TMH Ownership: The Best of Both

The conversations between Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH) ownership, Florida State University (FSU), and the City of Tallahassee happened and continue to happen so fast that it’s been difficult to keep up. We are paying attention to the conversations happening around this topic and we notice there are two distinct sides. One side is that an academic hospital will be better because it will have specialties. The other is the community should maintain control.

So, we did some research on the two options to find out the benefits of each. Currently TMH is community owned but not just by the state or federal government but by our city. This provides us with the most say in what happens with the hospital. Community based hospitals tend to be able to focus on and adjust to the needs of the community much easier than other owned hospitals. Our Community Board lives here in Tallahassee and has a personal investment in how the hospital is ran.

TMH has been running a campaign to highlight the benefits of community ownership. Many nurses and doctors continue to comment on social media after commenting at a commission meeting. The overwhelming responses we have seen from employees is that they prefer to be community owned. We also read conversations from medical students discussing which hospitals they prefer to intern and eventually work at. Many students stated that the community hospitals tend to have better work environments. They also added that physicians tend to remain at community hospitals longer providing mentors with more experience.

Academic Hospitals

Academic owned hospitals attract more specialized physicians and focus on specialty medicine and diseases. These hospitals are learning environments for students to observe rare complex cases that they may not otherwise experience. They can provide more advanced care, access to clinical trials, and research. Many neighbors in favor of FSU express this is the main reason they would like to see a sale.

Academic Hospital costs are about 10%-20% higher. Higher costs traditionally are offset with premium pricing for the insured (JACR) ¹. We assume that the employer will take on extra cost with this and will pass this cost onto the employee.

Currently we are standing at a unique opportunity to have the best of both worlds. We can have a community hospital with community say and focus as well as an academic hub. TMH already has a relationship with FSU and is working towards increasing the academic input and research. They also can focus on our community and our needs. One argument we heard is that this is the way medicine is heading and we shouldn’t remain in the past. However, we do not feel like this narrative is genuine to the situation. TMH is moving towards research and has specialties while maintaining community control. They are actually a pioneer for a medical hospital that balances community and learning.

Furthermore, if FSU takes ownership, there is a possibility of the governor being able to dictate how the hospital is run. For example, UF recently discontinued their job search for a liberal arts dean after the Governor became involved(Miami)². The governor chooses the Board of Trustees for state universities. The Board of Trustees sets policies and develops the mission of the university. If TMH is owned by FSU they will fall under the purview of whichever state governor is in office. TMH research and specialties will be dictated by the state and not by our local neighbors (who currently serve on TMH board).

The City Feels Left Out

The city argues they have not been invited to any meetings. We are curious if the city did their part in this relationship and expressed their desire to have a seat at the table. TMH is not expected to know the city wants to be apart of meetings if the city never expresses their position. We personally feel like a city representative on The Board would be beneficial (assuming there isn’t already one present).

This situation feels similar to the firefighter negotiations. The city tells the public there is progress in the negotiations while the other side feels dismissed. The city portrays the other side as stubborn, unwilling, and generally combative. They tell the public there has been progress in the negotiations and relay the narrative they are wanting. Ignoring the other side’s wishes. While we don’t know that is happening here, the similarities are striking and patterns are very similar.

A Few More Important Voices

We also listened to the concerns from a few neighbors about the quality of care provided by the current hospital ownership. These are valid experiences, and the hospital should consider these experiences moving forward. They should work toward hearing what our community members have negatively expressed and work towards a resolution. Luckily, we are still community owned and reaching the Board members is a lot easier than if it were to change ownership. Again, conversation is important for improving our community. It only happens if everyone is at the table.

While considering all voices at the table we also consider our rural neighbors who use the satellite facilities that have been built to address their needs. Before we make a decision we also should consider the cost of ownership change for those neighbors. There currently are too many unknowns there. Will those remain open if they aren’t benefiting FSU? Will the cost for those neighbors increase to account for the increased cost of a purely academic/teaching hospital?

In all the research we have read so far, the suggestion is to take time and weigh all the consequences. The commission should also consider that we have an opportunity, not given to many cities, to have the best of both types of hospitals. The more power we sell off, the less of a say our community has in the trajectory of our future.

Differences In The Community

The Florida Capital Tea Team supports TMH. While we recognize there are improvements that the hospital can and should make, we don’t believe those improvements can or would resolve with the sale to FSU. It feels as if city management and the Mayor are selling out our city to FSU. We are proud Noles. We are also proud to be Rattlers, Eagles, small businesses, nature-lovers, artists, and a political capitol. Among so many other groups in our community we are only diverse because we admire the differences and unique qualities of everyone. We don’t need everything to be the same. We just have to appreciate the beauty we all bring to the community.