Shane Strum has become the first person to simultaneously run both of Broward County's taxpayer-funded hospital districts, after Memorial Healthcare System's board of commissioners voted unanimously to confirm him as its permanent CEO and president. Strum already served as CEO and president of Broward Health since 2021, and he spent the past two years as Memorial's interim chief executive before the board made the arrangement permanent. He now oversees roughly 28,000 employees, 10 hospitals, and three trauma centers across two hospital systems that, on paper, remain entirely separate.
As reported by WLRN, Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System are divided roughly along Griffin Road and each draws its own portion of local property taxes. Both boards approved sharing Strum, and both remain legally required to operate independently, with separate budgets, according to the station's reporting. Strum described the current relationship between the two systems in blunt terms, saying they are in a “dating phase,” and framed the arrangement as a way for the systems to avoid redundancies and keep serving patients.
A Long Road Through Both Systems
Strum's résumé threads through both organizations and Tallahassee alike. Before taking over Broward Health in 2021, he served as Chief of Staff to Governor Ron DeSantis from 2018 to 2021 and to former Governor Charlie Crist, and he previously worked as a Senior Vice President at Memorial Healthcare System and spent two terms as chairman of the South Broward Hospital District Board, according to Florida Politics. He is a Broward County native who managed a $90 billion state budget while in the governor's office, the outlet notes.
That dual history has translated into dual leadership beyond just the top job. Several C-suite executives, including the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer, and General Counsel, now hold roles across both Broward Health and Memorial, according to reporting from Becker's Hospital Review. Because the two hospital districts were created as separate special taxing districts under state charter, they remain legally obligated to keep distinct governing boards and independent budgets, and to comply with antitrust law, even while sharing top leadership, per the same report.
Bills That Keep Dying in Tallahassee
Strum has publicly supported legislation that would let public hospital districts form joint ventures, partnerships, and shared service lines, per the WLRN report. But a bill sponsored by Rep. Hillary Cassel and Sen. Joe Gruters that would have granted special hospital districts state action antitrust immunity for joint ventures failed to get a committee hearing in 2026, marking the second consecutive year a similar partnership bill died in Tallahassee, according to Florida Politics. Strum plans to make another attempt to pass the measure, WLRN reports. Opponents have argued the legislation could reduce public oversight and shift taxpayer funds across district lines, the outlet notes.
Both the Broward Health board and Memorial's board of commissioners have seven governor-appointed members apiece, and both boards signed off on the shared-leadership arrangement. The two systems have undertaken more collaborative projects since 2024, including cross-credentialing physicians and considering a partnership that would let doctors work at both systems simultaneously, according to WLRN. They also face a shared staffing gap, with a deficit of about 1,000 employees between them, and both plan to hire more clinicians and nurses.
Pay Structure Still Being Sorted Out
Broward Health paid Strum $2.43 million in total compensation in 2025, including base salary, bonuses, and a car allowance, while he received no salary from Memorial during his interim tenure, according to Florida Politics. Memorial's board is now hiring an outside HR firm to evaluate his permanent compensation. Board Chair Elizabeth Justen said the firm's salary recommendation would be presented at a future public meeting.
The consolidation has not gone unchallenged. Strum's restructuring at Memorial has generated local resistance, including a 2025 petition with more than 2,700 signatures criticizing closer alignment between the systems, staff layoffs, and executive departures, per Florida Politics citing Miami Herald reporting. Layoffs have sparked controversy during Strum's two years at Memorial, and increased overlap between the two systems has raised concerns among some Broward residents, WLRN reports.
Betting on Efficiency as Tax Revenue Wobbles
The “Better Together” initiative that Broward Health and Memorial launched in February 2025 targets primary care, maternal health, and food insecurity, with an early focus on Broward ZIP codes 33311 and 33313 — areas that accounted for 21% of all infant deaths and 36% of Black infant deaths in the county despite representing only 10% of its population in 2020, according to South Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report. The program is now expanding into oncology, neurosciences, and graduate medical education, per WLRN. As part of the collaboration, the two systems launched a centralized countywide healthcare call center in June 2025 and partnered with the University of Florida to track health data at the city-block level rather than by ZIP code, allowing them to target mobile clinics to high-need areas.
Hoodline first covered the Better Together launch in February 2025 and later reported on Broward Health's record medical resident class under Strum's leadership, as well as the Holiday Park emergency room groundbreaking. Strum has overseen the opening of two emergency rooms and construction of a third during his tenure, and Memorial Regional Hospital plans to open a new $670 million bed tower in 2029.
Looming over all of it is a possible hit to tax revenue. A Florida Policy Institute analysis reported by Florida Politics found that proposed property tax rollbacks under Amendment 3, on Florida's November 2026 ballot, could cost the North Broward Hospital District $100.4 million over three years — the largest projected shortfall among the state's public hospital districts — while South Broward Hospital District faces an estimated $2.2 million loss. WLRN reports the amendment could cause health care systems statewide to lose millions if voters approve it. Strum has said the organization is built strong, and that collaboration could help both hospital systems work more efficiently as they navigate whatever comes next.
