Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare for sale?
The drama surrounding the possible sale of TMH and talks with FSU and the City of Tallahassee continue to swirl.
- The author emphasizes the importance of local control over TMH, advocating for a governance structure that prioritizes community representation.
- The author calls for transparency and public hearings to ensure community involvement in the decision-making process.
Some things are bigger than politics, bigger than the City of Tallahassee’s years-long divided government and bigger than personal differences.
The future of community health care in Tallahassee is one of them. Never has there been a greater opportunity for our commission to speak in one voice in favor of the public interest: put the TMH issue on the ballot for voters, who own the hospital, to decide.
While most people haven’t been happy that the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Florida State University negotiations are happening outside of public view – eventually it will all come to light. A final decision will be vetted by the city commission. Here are the community benefits I’ll be looking for when it does:
Local people, local decision making
Our city works well with the state on everything from infrastructure to hurricane recovery.
However, we’ve also seen relationships sour when the state government overreaches into local affairs. Just this week, we witnessed the heartbreaking removal of artistic sidewalk crossings.
And we don’t need political meddling and a strong-arm approach in our local healthcare system.
A new governance structure at TMH should retain the ability for the city commission to approve its leadership from people that live here – our doctors, civic leaders, and local voices who will put patient care first.
We can’t risk handing over the keys to the future of healthcare in Tallahassee to the political winds of the state. Tallahassee must retain a two-thirds majority of voting board members.
Indigent care
TMH is worth over a billion dollars. A value built over generations of Tallahasseeans receiving care at our community hospital.
When you sell a municipal hospital, the proceeds are supposed to go toward indigent care. It’s worrying to hear some want to outright give our hospital to FSU — further straining resources for people that need our help the most. Certainly, this option cannot be seriously considered.
A public process
A proposal of this magnitude is bigger than any single decision our commission will make since any of us have been in office.
This isn’t a zoning variance or routine procurement — this is the future of health care for Leon County and $1 billion in public assets. This can’t be another decision that gets rushed, with one week’s notice and an upset public telling us it was a “done deal” before they got a chance to weigh in.
We deserve full hearings, clear disclosures, and time to vet the proposal before it nears completion. We need to understand how this agreement was reached, and the extent stakeholders have confidence in the arrangement.
And then, critically: we should put the decision to the voters. This singular decision will have an economic impact similar to the entirety of the Blueprint sales tax. At this scale a public referendum is needed and appropriate.
The bottom line
The benefits of adding an academic health center are clear to me, but those benefits can’t come at the expense of the current owners of TMH’s property, the citizens of Tallahassee.
I want to believe this process can bring out the best in all parties. But history tells us to be cautious. FSU is a powerful institution, backed by the state and major corporate players. These folks are highly skilled at pulling the levers and turning the screws to get what they want.
But, the fact remains, this deal can’t be made behind closed doors. The details will be examined line by line. And TMH leadership – by their words and their posture – will signal whether they are standing firm for the community they represent.
The people of Tallahassee own this hospital. This choice is all of ours. And our voice, our health, and our future must come first.
Jeremy Matlow is a Tallahassee city commissioner representing Seat 3. He has filed to run for mayor in 2026.
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