Bethel Missionary Baptist Church held a press conference to address their response to a Memorandum of Understanding between Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare and Florida State University pertaining to the future of the hospital.
Faith leaders emphasized the need to ensure that uninsured and underserved residents continue to receive high-quality care under the proposed TMHFSU partnership. The proposed teaching hospital could elevate medical education and expand services, but the community is urging transparency and inclusivity to ensure public interests are not overlooked in the process. Watch the video to hear residents and city leaders voice their concerns about the transfer of ownership of TMH to the state, and how they believe that without fair compensation, it could reduce local oversight and community accountability.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
I am just leaving a meeting here at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, where a group of clergy members came together to share their response on the Memorandum of Understanding between Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare and Florida State University.
I’m Lyric Sloan, your neighborhood reporter, and I’ll show you what this congregation wants to hear from city commissioners.
As conversations intensify around the future of Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, the community is concerned about what happens to the most vulnerable if the state takes over our local hospital.
For Reverend Dr. R.B. Holmes, it’s a partnership with promise, but one that must come with clear protections for those most in need.
“We must have the assurance that those who don’t have insurance will always receive high-quality health care,” Reverend Dr. R.B. Holmes, Jr. said.
The emerging partnership between Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare promises expanded medical services, stronger research initiatives, and new opportunities for medical education.
Under the current plan, ownership of TMH would transfer from the City of Tallahassee to FSU, while TMH would continue to manage daily operations.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding, TMH would retain a majority of board seats, though FSU’s representation would gradually increase over time.
Still, concerns remain about oversight and inclusion.
“The board must be inclusive, transparent, and rooted in local control. It should operate as a nonprofit,” Reverend Dr. R.B. Holmes, Jr. said.
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow says he heard those concerns loud and clear.
“The concerns we heard today to make sure there’s fair and diverse representation going forward on any board are well received,” Matlow said.
The FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences’ former CEO Dean, Johnnie Early, says that a teaching hospital will raise the level of healthcare in the community.
“They are not just learning, they are learning about you as a patient and about your problems you’ve got really smart practitioners and learners trying to figure it out,” Early said.
FAMU President Marva Johnson also issued a statement, reading in part quote,
“I am proud to reaffirm our role as an essential partner in training the healthcare professionals of the future.”
In an effort to inform and unite the community, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church hosted this event to raise awareness and ensure that citizens are fully engaged as the city decides what comes next.
A special City Commission meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at City Hall, where residents can voice their opinions and shape the future of their community’s healthcare.
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