FSU proposes $413.9 million hospital in Panama City Beach

Florida State University (FSU) is planning to build a new hospital in Panama City Beach. The university will ask the state’s Board of Governors for approval to issue $413.9 million in bonds to fund the project. The FSU Board of Trustees will discuss this proposal on Wednesday. The hospital is expected to be completed by December 2027 and will have 80 beds. It will include a 20-bed emergency room and special areas for cardiology, gastroenterology, and pulmonary medicine. These services aim to meet the needs of a growing older population in the area. FSU plans to run the hospital under the brand "FSU Health" with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare managing the facility. The new hospital is part of a larger, long-term plan to create an 87-acre medical campus, eventually expanding to 600 beds. Funding for the bonds will come from reimbursements that FSU receives from research grants. The university already has a presence in Panama City and has partnered with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare on other health projects. Currently, patients in the area mainly go to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay and HCA Florida Gulf Coast hospitals. FSU’s analysis shows that the new hospital could draw a significant number of patients from these existing hospitals.