MedMag-Fall-2025-Digital | Page 5

Artist’ s rendering of the FSU Health Academic Health Center on the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare campus

FSU and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare join forces to establish academic health center

Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare have approved the structure for a historic partnership agreement to create an academic health center in Tallahassee, a development that will transform health care in North Florida and expand FSU’ s mission in education and research.

Richard McCullough, FSU President
In a joint statement, FSU President Richard Mc- Cullough and TMH CEO Mark O’ Bryant said the partnership will“ provide the opportunity to establish the hospital as a true quaternary center— expanding services, extending our reach, generating jobs and fueling regional growth, all while preserving TMH as a community-focused hospital.
“ By uniting TMH’ s longstanding commitment to community care with FSU’ s mission of academic excellence and service, we are seizing an extraordinary opportunity to shape the long-term future of health care in North Florida and beyond,” they said.“ This partnership will elevate the quality of health care for our community, create dynamic educational pathways for students and foster groundbreaking research.”
The TMH Board of Directors voted unanimously Sept. 15 to proceed with the framework for the partnership, marking a pivotal moment for health care, research and education in North Florida. Additional definitive agreements must be finalized in the coming months.
The idea of transforming TMH into an academic health center has been discussed for more than a decade. The TMH Board first outlined the vision in its 2008 strategic plan, and the hospital has since added multiple residency programs. At TMH, the FSU College of Medicine sponsors residencies in family medicine, general surgery and internal medicine, as well as in psychiatry in partnership with the Apalachee Center.
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