One person now oversees both of Broward County’s public hospital districts.
Shane Strum, who has served as CEO and president of Broward Health since 2021, was selected this week to take up the same role at Memorial Healthcare System.
Memorial Healthcare’s board of commissioners unanimously confirmed the former chief of staff for Gov. Ron DeSantis at a meeting Wednesday afternoon. He had held the role in an interim capacity for two years.
It’s the first time one person has overseen both of Broward County’s taxpayer-funded hospital districts simultaneously. The two systems, roughly divided by Griffin Road, operate independently, with separate budgets. Each receives a portion of property taxes from their area.
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But Broward and Memorial have undertaken more collaborative projects in the two years since Strum began at the latter in 2024. “Better Together," Memorial's collaboration with Broward Health targeting primary and maternal care access, is now growing into oncology, neurosciences, and graduate medical education.
During his first day on the job Thursday, Strum said the two hospitals are in a “dating phase” and were looking for a leader who could work to bring them together. Doing so can help both work more efficiently, he said.
“Each of us could have some gaps or deficiencies,” Strum said. “Wouldn't it be great if the doctors at Memorial could help us at Broward, and the doctors at Broward could help us at Memorial?”
The districts are considering a partnership model that would allow physicians at both systems to get cross-credentialed, so they could work at both simultaneously, he said.
Strum also prioritized construction projects over the past two years, overseeing the opening of two emergency rooms, with a third under construction. Memorial Regional Hospital's new $670 million bed tower is also set to open in 2029.
Although Florida’s constitution bans one person from holding two public offices at the same time, special taxing districts aren’t included in the prohibition. Between his two roles, Strum will oversee 10 hospitals, about 28,000 employees and three trauma centers.
Memorial’s and Broward’s governor-appointed, seven-member boards had to separately vote to approve the arrangement Wednesday.
At the meeting, Board chair Elizabeth Justen said a firm would assess Strum’s salary and present it at a future meeting, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Strum did not receive a salary from Memorial during his time as interim CEO. His pay reached $2.43 million from Broward Health in 2025 through his base salary, bonuses and a car allowance.
This legislative session, Strum supported a bill that would allow public hospital districts to form joint ventures, partnerships and shared service lines. The measure failed in Tallahassee. Strum plans to take “another swing” at it.
“Bringing all these doctors together under one roof is magical,” he said. “Physicians are unbelievably talented, and they like working together, and they love solving problems.”
Increased overlap between the two districts has raised alarm bells for some Broward residents. Layoffs have sparked controversy over Strum’s two years at memorial, alongside physician departures, an age-distrimination lawsuit and the loss of in-network provider Florida Blue.
But Strum said increasing efficiency between the two systems doesn’t equate with shrinking staff. Rather, he said, both systems have a deficit of about 1,000 employees and will only grow as they look to hire more clinicians and nurses.
Strum takes over as a property tax change amendment looms over public hospital districts. Healthcare systems across the state could lose millions if it passes in November. But if Broward and Memorial work together more, Strum said, the two systems can avoid redundancies and continue serving patients.
“The organization is built strong,” he said. “We manage our expenses as we're continuing to grow. We're looking at top line growth. That's why collaboration is so incredibly important for us.”
