• Sanitas Medical Center plans to open four new healthcare facilities in Leon County 
• Sanitas, a Florida Blue partner organization, will exclusively cater to original Medicare beneficiaries, self-paying patients, and members of other states’ Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, including Florida Blue and Florida Blue Medicare
• Individuals insured by the majority of Florida Blue products will have up to two $0 urgent care visits annually and unlimited $0 copay primary care visits

Sanitas Medical Center, a Florida Blue partner organization, plans to open four new comprehensive primary care medical centers in Leon County.

Sanitas will exclusively cater to original Medicare beneficiaries, self-paying patients, and members of other states’ Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, including Florida Blue and Florida Blue Medicare.

According to the insurance company, individuals insured by the majority of Florida Blue products will have up to two $0 urgent care visits annually and unlimited $0 copay primary care visits at the new facilities as part of an effort to deliver low-cost medical care.

“Bringing our innovative health care model to Tallahassee is an opportunity to encourage better health through better access to care,” said Juan Estrada, CEO of Sanitas. “As economic pressures increase for individuals and families and populations within the community change, the entire system of care is impacted. Offering more doctors and care teams, in-person and virtually, means we can help overcome the barriers to getting care that meets the changing needs of the community. And through our partnership with Florida Blue, we can help reduce the costs of care.”

The quartet of facilities is set to offer comprehensive care capabilities including preventive care, chronic condition management, and lab work, as well as offering a community use space for patient and community education and engagement.

“Through this collaboration, Sanitas brings high-quality health care personalized to each resident’s needs that’s now affordable to them through the new health plan offerings Florida Blue is introducing in Leon and the surrounding counties,” said Darnell Smith, Florida Blue Market President.

Amid a surge in population, the partners hope to provide more accessible and widespread medical care throughout Leon County, home to two hospital facilities — HCA Florida Capital Hospital and Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Tallahassee Memorial captured the attention of the media in recent weeks after it was rated as one of the worst hospitals in Florida in terms of safety, earning a ‘D’ rating.

Tallahassee Memorial was found to have several issues in performing surgery, scoring in the red on the ‘Dangerous Objects Left in the Patient’s Body,” “Blood Leakage,” and “Death From Serious Treatable Complications” metrics.

Further, Leapfrog, the hospital watchdog group conducting the ratings, identified a series of safety issues including a high rate of dangerous bed sores, patient falls or injuries, and what it defined as harmful events.

“These potentially avoidable safety events represent opportunities for improving patient care. Staff should document when errors happen, discuss how the error occurred, and develop a plan to prevent future errors,” says the report.