Tallahassee Primary Care Associates announced it is permanently closing its doors later this month — a not surprising move for the once prominent physicians group.
In late January, TPCA said it was undergoing “restructuring and changes,” including the shuttering of its lab and diagnostic services center. At the same time, numerous doctors left to join other groups or go solo amid unconfirmed reports TPCA was shutting down altogether.
TPCA’s more recent closure announcement came in an open letter to its patients and the Tallahassee community.
“For nearly 30 years, Tallahassee Primary Care Associates (TPCA) has had the pleasure of providing high quality, evidence based healthcare to you and our community. We sincerely appreciate your loyalty and trust in us. Recently, we have made the very difficult decision to close our TPCA practice effective April 25, 2025.”
TPCA said the closure would not affect “the exceptional care” that patients will continue to get from their providers. It also said that all patients have been notified directly by their doctors on how and where to continue getting care once the practice dissolves.
“To the thousands of patients we have cared for, we sincerely appreciate you,” TPCA said. “To our dedicated employees, we thank you for your steadfast commitment and loyalty to providing exceptional care to each patient that entered our facilities.”
The letter was signed by ten physicians: Drs. Ricardo Bailey, William Fleming, Terreze Gamble, Kennessa Hugger, Patricia Hogan, William Morse, Oliver Reyes, Jayati Singh, Madhuri Sankuratri and Gregory Williams.
While the lab has been closed since late February, patients continued to trickle in Tuesday at TPCA’s administrative office on Miccosukee Commons Drive, once home to a number of physicians. Signs directed them to check in on the first floor to see four listed doctors.
Since late last year, numerous physicians announced they were leaving TPCA, including Kristin Harmon, Raquel Mitchell, Mary Norton, Pooja Patel, Gregory Perry, Lynndsey Parker, Kathryn Simmons, Rebekah Steverson and John Turner.
Williams’ office emailed patients in mid-March saying April 25 would be his last day seeing patients at TPCA and that he will be joining Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Physician Partners – Primary Care at Southwood starting June 1. The office instructed patients who need urgent care between those dates to go to the TMH Southwood office.
“We greatly appreciate your patience during this transition,” the email said.
The implosion of Tallahassee Primary Care Associates blindsided some patients, plunging them into worry and uncertainty. Some got letters from insurance companies saying their doctors were no longer in their networks. Others said TPCA had faced a variety of financial and other troubles that appeared to have compounded over the years.
Shanna Matteo, a Tallahassee resident, said her rheumatologist managed her care “wonderfully” at TPCA for 10 years. But her insurance company recently told her that it would no longer approve her doctor, who had left the practice. She said that because Tallahassee has a shortage of rheumatologists, it will be harder to get appointments and manage lab work.
“It was done abruptly,” Matteo said in an email, “and it left so many patients without a primary care physician and a specialist and they could have done a better job accommodating the patients’ needs.”
TPCA included a list of doctors and how to reach their new practices on its website, www.tallahasseeprimarycare.com/wheresmydoctor.
“Patients are encouraged to contact your physician’s office if you have any questions,” TPCA advised.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ‘Very difficult decision’: Tallahassee Primary Care Associates closing later this month
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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