Memorial Healthcare System has named Shane Strum its permanent president and chief executive officer, formalizing a leadership role he has held on an interim basis since September 2024. Strum will continue serving as president and CEO of Broward Health while leading Memorial, creating one of the most unique healthcare leadership arrangements in Florida.
The appointment comes after a two-year period of growth, expansion, and financial success at Memorial, which officials say helped solidify the board’s decision.
Strum will continue overseeing both public hospital systems as they expand Better Together, a collaboration between Memorial and Broward Health designed to improve access to care and coordinate healthcare services across Broward County. While the partnership continues to grow, both organizations remain independently governed, with separate boards, budgets, and operations.
The South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to make Strum’s appointment permanent after a period marked by significant investments in facilities, technology, and patient care.
During that time, Memorial opened freestanding emergency departments in Miramar and Pembroke Pines, with a third under construction in Hollywood. The system also broke ground on a new $670 million bed tower at Memorial Regional Hospital that will include additional operating rooms and private patient rooms.
Memorial additionally unveiled a $68 million expansion and renovation of its Family Birthplace, opened the Memorial Cardiovascular Institute at Memorial Hospital West, and invested in robotic surgery, cardiac catheterization labs, and advanced imaging technology.
The growth has been accompanied by strong financial performance. Memorial recently posted the strongest financial results in its 73-year history, while also earning seven 2025 Press Ganey Human Experience Awards, including five Guardian of Excellence Awards for Patient Experience and two Pinnacle of Excellence Awards. The system also was nationally recognized for the third consecutive year as a Great Place to Work.
“Shane has delivered results our community can see and feel: new emergency rooms, a state-of-the-art bed tower now under construction, and the strongest financial performance in Memorial’s history,” said Elizabeth Justen, chair of the South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners. “He’s proven he has both the vision and the discipline to lead this system, and today’s vote reflects the board’s full confidence in him.”
The Better Together partnership has also expanded beyond its initial focus into areas including oncology, neurosciences, and graduate medical education, creating new opportunities for collaboration between Broward County’s two public healthcare systems.
In a previous interview with Florida Daily, Strum described the initiative as a collaborative model rather than a precursor to consolidation. “Rather than pursuing a merger, we chose to remain independent while collaborating where it makes a real difference,” Strum said. “It’s a different way of thinking about public healthcare — recognizing that many challenges are too complex for any one institution to solve alone.”
Strum, a Broward County native, has nearly 30 years of experience spanning healthcare, public service, higher education, and hospital governance. “I’m grateful for the trust this board and this community have placed in me,” said Strum. “Memorial is stronger today than it’s ever been, and I’m excited to keep building on that momentum, expanding access to care, growing our clinical capabilities, and taking the Better Together collaboration with Broward Health to the next level. This is just the beginning of what we can accomplish together for Broward County.”
Memorial Healthcare System serves patients across six hospitals, including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, and employs more than 17,000 physicians and team members throughout South Florida.
