After a failed attempt during the 2025 Legislative session, Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System took another stab this year at becoming "Better Together," the name of their campaign to give Broward County's two public hospital systems more financial clout and allow them to collaborate more closely.
Broward and Memorial are sister hospitals, essentially, with a shared CEO: Shane Strum, who served as Gov. Ron DeSantis's chief of staff from 2019 to 2021. But they operate in strictly defined taxing districts — Broward in the north and Memorial in the south — that Strum views as outdated, arbitrary and partly based on Florida's segregated past. The boundary, he adds, also prevents Memorial physicians from being credentialed at Broward and vice-versa, and it's led to the presence of "health deserts" in some parts of the county.
"Collaboration allows more joint initiatives," Strum tells FLORIDA TREND, "and it helps our patients."
This year, State Rep. Hillary Cassel (R-Dania Beach) introduced legislation in the House (HB 1047) in support of Better Together, while State Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) championed a companion bill (SB 1122) in the Senate. Having Gruters, one of Florida's most powerful GOP legislators, on board was a big advantage, but critics, particularly the for-profit HCA Healthcare, have lobbied against Better Together, labeling it a backdoor merger that will create a monopoly, and at press time, the bills had failed to advance.
Both bills, as worded, would have established state action immunity for Broward and Memorial, shielding them from anti-trust laws. The 2025 version of the legislation didn't contain that language. Strum, however, says Better Together is no different than similar laws that have been passed in 20 other states to allow more collaboration among public hospitals. He also says he and his team won't give up on the effort.
"We'll try again." — By Brian Hartz