$5 Million Morsani Gift Sets Up New Spring Hill Health Center on Forest Oaks Boulevard

Premier Community HealthCare Group will build a new integrated health center in Spring Hill on Forest Oaks Boulevard, backed by a $5 million commitment from longtime Hernando County residents Carol and Frank Morsani. It is the largest philanthropic gift in Premier's history, and it comes three days after the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a 99-year land lease for the site.

The center will sit near the county's Tax Collector office and bring primary care, behavioral health, nutrition services and an on-site pharmacy under one roof. Premier says it will have capacity to serve more than 15,000 patients a year and support 60 to 70 care team positions once it opens.

For a county that has struggled for years to keep enough doctors, therapists and dentists on the ground, that is not a small promise.

Why the county is a health care shortage area

Hernando County carries a federal shortage designation for primary care, mental health and dental care. There are 1,394 people for every mental health provider in the county, compared with 693 statewide, roughly double the strain seen elsewhere in Florida. Behavioral health hospitalizations run 46 percent above the state rate.

Tampa General Hospital's 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment for Hernando County ranked behavioral health as the top priority among seven areas of concern, with health care access ranked second. Among survey respondents, 72.5 percent named access to health care among the five factors most important to improving quality of life, ahead of affordable food and livable-wage jobs.

A lead gift meant to move faster

Premier's leadership frames the Morsani gift less as a finish line and more as a head start. Joey Resnick, Premier's president and CEO, said the project is meant for patients who put off care because the trip, the cost or the wait feels like too much, and that the new center is designed to put primary care, behavioral health, nutrition support and pharmacy services closer together and easier to reach.

Tony Coleman, chair of Premier's board, said improving access to care in Hernando County sits at the top of the organization's new strategic plan, and that the Morsanis' commitment lets Premier accelerate a timeline that would otherwise have taken years to prepare for. He said the gift positions Premier to launch a capital campaign with real momentum behind it.

The gift is structured as a legacy commitment through the Morsanis' estate plans, designated to support both the Spring Hill center and Premier's longer-term work across Hernando County. Frank Morsani said he and Carol have long believed quality health care should be within reach for the people who need it most, and that the gift is meant to serve residents who might otherwise delay care, travel too far, or go without support altogether. He said the hope is that the lead gift accelerates the project and draws other donors into a matching campaign.

Cheryl Pollock, Premier's chief advancement and community engagement officer, described the project as neighbors caring for neighbors, meant to get more children, seniors and families care closer to home.

What comes next

The Morsani gift is meant to seed a broader capital campaign, not fully fund the project on its own. Premier is now asking businesses, donors and other community partners to help match the commitment. The organization has not released a construction timeline or a total project budget, and it has not said when the capital campaign will formally launch or when ground could break on Forest Oaks Boulevard. Premier says anyone interested in getting involved can reach out through the organization directly as planning moves forward.

Want to keep up with how this project moves through the county? Visit Hernando County Community Website for ongoing coverage, follow us on Facebook, and join the conversation in our Community Forum. For more stories on local health care access and county decisions, visit our healthcare and government and politics sections.