We are not ones to shy away from big ideas. On June 15, 2000, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed the legislation to create the Florida State University College of Medicine. This was a “big idea” back then and remains one today. This year, we celebrate 25 years of accomplishments by our alumni, students, faculty and staff and look with promise toward the next 25 years.

What does our future hold? A lot. FSU Health, another “big idea,” is beginning to take shape. This bold university initiative will build a medical ecosystem that will truly transform medical education and health care delivery in North Florida. Already, ground has been broken for an FSU Health Academic Health Center on the campus of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH), set to open next year. The 140,000-square-foot building will house clinical research and education space, residency programs, laboratory facilities and other resources designed to bridge the gap between education, academic research and patient care. It will be home to approximately 30 principal investigators and is expected to attract $40 million annually in grant funding.

In March, the FSU Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors — the 17-member board that oversees Florida’s state universities — approved $414 million in bond financing for the construction of an FSU Health hospital in Panama City Beach. The university will partner with an operator to handle day-to-day operations of the new medical facility. Once final approval is given by the state, construction will begin on the first phase of the hospital, which can accommodate up to 180 beds and will offer a broad range of health care services including emergency medicine, general medicine and surgery, and diagnostic imaging. In addition, specialized service lines will be added, which will include cardiac care, neurology and orthopedics. To make this project a reality, The St. Joe Company donated more than 16 acres of land to FSU. A medical office building is already on site and accepting patients. The College of Medicine is developing additional partnerships to support the growth of FSU Health.

We also have big ideas for expanding our Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. In July, the FSU College of Medicine assumed sponsorship of four residency programs with Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola: 1) Family Medicine; 2) Internal Medicine; 3) OB-GYN; and 4) Pediatrics. Also in July, at TMH, the college assumed sponsorship of the Family Medicine residency program. We have exciting plans to expand GME throughout the state — adding more slots to train more physicians that are so badly needed in Florida.

Everything we do — and all the big ideas we have — are centered on improving patient care and providing our students the best education and training possible to meet the health care needs of Floridians. We do this in many ways, including through our School of Physician Assistant Practice (now with more than 300 alumni); the Bridge to Clinical Medicine Program which leads to a master’s degree in a health-related field; our doctoral program which trains the next generation of scientists to answer important questions of medical relevance;, and our pathway programs that serve as an entry point for students interested in pursuing a rewarding career in health care.

This year, we celebrate the college’s 25th anniversary — and the 20th anniversary of the graduation of our first class of medical students, the Class of 2005. And, this year, our Sarasota Regional Campus celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Although we have many successes and institutional milestones to celebrate — from anniversaries to the expansion and growth of programs — we have not lost sight of the most important and personal milestones of all. These include the admission of new cohorts of eager students, White Coat ceremonies, Match Day, commencements and all the personal victories and sacrifices experienced by our students along the way. We are very proud of each and every one of them — and remain committed to their success. I hope you share the same sense of pride and feeling of accomplishment for all we have done over the past 25 years, and for all that is yet to come.

With Warm Regards,

Alma B. Littles, M.D. 
Dean, FSU College of Medicine 

View quarterly issue