On Tuesday, January 17th, Florida State University (FSU), Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH), and real estate developer, the St. Joe Company, celebrated the start of construction at a new healthcare campus in Panama City Beach. The FSU Health – Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Medical Campus will bring together clinicians, researchers, and students to meet the rapidly increasing need for medical care in the Panhandle.
Estimates show that Florida will have a shortfall of 4,700 primary care physicians by 2030, and 60,000 nurses by 2035, according to TMH, which stated that Florida’s population was the highest-growing in the country in 2022, with population growth of 1.9%.
“Today’s celebration represents a very important step forward for our community,” President and CEO of the St. Joe Company, Jorge Gonzalez, said. “This medical campus, backed by the expertise of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Florida State University, is a crucial element for supporting the health and well-being of residents and visitors in every stage of life. It also has the potential to create synergistic opportunities between research, education, and clinical delivery, to enhance the quality of life throughout the region and beyond.”
The campus is being built on an 87-acre plot of land, located minutes away from Latitude Margaritaville Watersound community. Development plans include an 80,000 square-foot medical office building that is expected to be completed in 2024. The medical office building will house TMH Physician Partners Primary Care, Tallahassee Memorial Urgent Care Center, an ambulatory surgery center, and cardiology and orthopedic services.
“As the population in our region increases, TMH has identified a substantial need to expand healthcare services,” President and CEO of TMH, Mark O’Bryant said. “Over the past seven and a half decades, we’ve built a reputation for excellent, compassionate and local care, and we are proud to now offer our services to the Panama City Beach communities.”
Additional campus plans include a 100-bed hospital with an emergency center and other inpatient services, including cardiology procedures and imaging, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
Over the past several years, FSU has been growing its health research portfolio while pursuing partnerships with major healthcare systems, including TMH. FSU has also increased opportunities for students through their College of Medicine, which opened a physician training program, and welcomed its first group of the new doctoral program in nursing at their College of Nursing last fall.