Sanitas Medical Center partners with Florida Blue on four new locations in Leon County

Sanitas Medical Center (Sanitas), a Florida Blue partner organization since 2015, plans to open four new comprehensive primary care medical centers in Leon County over the next six months. With a focus on providing local communities and families with greater access to affordable, quality health care, the Sanitas care model customizes care to address the cultural and social needs of community members. Sanitas will offer scheduled appointments, virtual visits, walk-in appointments, and extended hours to make primary care more convenient.

Sanitas will exclusively serve Florida Blue, Florida Blue Medicare and other states’ Blue Cross Blue Shield members, self-paying patients and those with original Medicare. Patients covered by most Florida Blue products will have unlimited $0 copay primary care visits and up to two $0 urgent care visits per year at Sanitas, in addition to no-cost 24/7 on-demand virtual primary care.

The new medical centers are slated for Killearn, South Tallahassee, Apalachee and North Monroe. Each location will provide a variety of services under one roof: preventive care, chronic condition management, lab work, and offer a community use space for patient and community education and engagement. Along with the Sanitas expansion, the Florida Blue Centers are also expanding to bring more health solutions to community members. The Killearn and North Monroe Sanitas locations will include a co-located Florida Blue Center with two on-site consultants who can answer questions about benefits and coverage, as well as provide education about care programs offered at the Tallahassee Florida Blue Center and in the community.

“Bringing our innovative health care model to Tallahassee is an opportunity to encourage better health through better access to care,” said Juan Estrada, CEO, Sanitas Primary Care. “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.”

Addressing barriers to heath care in the Tallahassee area

Like people in many areas in Florida, Tallahassee residents often find health care difficult to access due to cost of services, long wait times and limited evening and weekend care options. Other social factors that can create barriers to care include food and housing insecurity, transportation challenges and economic inequalities

Sanitas will help address many of these issues through its centers. Patients can get virtual services with comprehensive, 24/7 on-demand primary care through a telehealth program and patient mobile app without an appointment –– and, at no cost. Scheduled virtual services are also available for specialty care and mental health care.

The Florida Blue Center consultants located in the Killearn and North Monroe locations will provide in-person, over-the-phone and virtual support to anyone in the community – even if they are not a Florida Blue member. They will assist with connecting individuals with military and veteran services, social services for children, adults and seniors, government and medication programs and even transportation, utilities, housing and food assistance programs.

“We believe all Floridians deserve affordable access to quality health care. Sanitas has been a valuable partner in helping us support and elevate the health and well-being of underserved communities in other parts of Florida, and we are eager to bring their expertise to Tallahassee and the surrounding communities,” said Darnell Smith, Florida Blue Market President. “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 for individuals of every age – from babies to seniors.”

Reduced Hospital Visits, Improved Wellness and Lowered Costs

Sanitas tailors the services it provides to meet patients’ needs, which often extend beyond traditional primary care services. Sanitas patients have access to nurses who specialize in different conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, as well as to nutritionists and social workers. Together, these professionals work with each patient to simplify their health care experience, coordinate with other providers, and manage patients’ overall health.

The personalized approach to care has resulted in fewer inpatient hospital admissions and emergency room visits compared to other primary care providers in other areas of the state where Sanitas has partnered with Florida Blue. More than 300,000 Florida Blue and Florida Blue Medicare members receive medical care and health and wellness services at the 39 current Sanitas Medical Centers in Florida.

“The success of our partnership with Florida Blue has been proven. They share our passion to build healthier communities through a new and innovative health care model that is local, easy to access, affordable, and puts consumers at the center,” says Estrada.

The four new Sanitas locations in Leon County are located at:

• Killearn, 1415 Timberland Rd.
• South Tallahassee, 5032 Capital Cir SW
• Apalachee, 904 E Lafayette St.
• North Monroe, 2415 N. Monroe St.

About Sanitas, a Keralty company

Sanitas USA is a subsidiary of Keralty, a leading multinational health organization serving more than eight million people in Spain, United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Sanitas also includes educational and socially-focused organizations that complement its world of health mission. In the U.S., Sanitas has medical centers in Florida, Tennessee, Texas and New Jersey in close collaboration with local leading health insurance organizations. Sanitas brings a unique integrated care model that improves access to quality and culturally-relevant primary and urgent care, while reducing the total cost of care. For more information, visit mysanitas.com.

About Florida Blue 

Florida Blue, Florida’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, has been providing health insurance to residents of Florida for more than 75 years. Driven by its mission of helping people and communities achieve better health, the company serves more than 6 million health care members across the state. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.