'The house that DVD built': FSU PrimaryHealth building named after Dr. Daniel Van Durme

The Florida State University PrimaryHealth building is now named after the medical leader who birthed the health care initiative — the late Dr. Daniel Van Durme.

The dedication took place Thursday afternoon at the clinic’s site on Roberts Avenue, in honor of Van Durme, who was the FSU College of Medicine’s Chief Medical Officer.

The 61-year-old died last year from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident while on his way to a scheduled meeting at FSU PrimaryHealth, as FSU College of Medicine Interim Dean Alma Littles explained during the event.

“We've invited you here today, not for a somber occasion, but rather a celebration of an amazing man of many gifts,” said Littles, who knew Van Durme for almost 40 years as a friend and colleague. “This practice's existence is one of them.”

While the event celebrated the five-year anniversary of FSU PrimaryHealth — a public primary health facility serving individuals in Tallahassee’s southwest community and beyond — it also marked the one-year anniversary of Van Durme’s death last May 30.

FSU PrimaryHealth was Van Durme’s passion project, and his goal was for the patient-focused center to meet the growing demand for accessible primary care.

During special remarks from Pat Van Durme about her late husband, she said he started a gratitude journal a few years ago, where every night, he wrote down three things he was grateful for throughout the day.

"The only thing in the whole journal that was in all capital letters was 'POSSIBLE FSU MEDICAL CLINIC IN THE WORKS,' " Van Durme said. "He was so excited and so thrilled. Who knew at that time how encompassing it was all going to become?"

"If he was here and saw his name on the building, he would just be in awe," she added.

The facility officially opened in May 2019 and is currently staffed by over 30 individuals comprised of physicians from the university’s College of Medicine along with physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

During the Thursday event, FSU PrimaryHealth was described as "Van Durme's baby."

“This area was previously designated a 'medical desert,' so FSU PrimaryHealth is meeting a vital community need,” Littles said. “To date, it has provided more than 52,500 medical and mental health services to the people of our community.”

The 10,000-square-foot center has had over 7,200 individual patients with approximately 3,000 of them being residents of neighborhoods surrounding the facility, according to Littles.

For Van Durme, new building is 'keeping his memory alive'

Before his role as chief medical officer, Van Durme served as FSU’s senior associate dean for clinical community affairs. He also mentored thousands of family physicians, won numerous teaching awards, participated in service-learning experiences and played a crucial role in FSU’s COVID-19 response during the pandemic.

Shortly after Van Durme's death, the idea to dedicate the FSU PrimaryHealth building in his honor was a result of several individuals who thought it would be necessary in efforts of "keeping his memory alive," Littles said.

The university's Board of Trustees gave an easy yes to the official request that was submitted in late fall of last year to formally name the building after the medical leader.

To honor Van Durme's legacy, the college also created the Daniel Van Durme, M.D. Memorial Scholarship Fund last year. Inaugural scholarships were awarded to two College of Medicine students during the Thursday event – Nora Albibi and Amber Dudek, who are both part of FSU’s Family Medicine Scholars Program.

As FSU PrimaryHealth continues to serve individuals in the community and beyond, Littles says the center will be part of the university's FSU Health movement to grow clinical practices in other areas in the future. The facility is also currently partnered with the Mayo Clinic and is doing a special procedure to detect early liver disease.

“This facility will forever be known as the house that DVD built,” said Kyle Clark, FSU's senior vice president for Finance and Administration. “In the five years since its founding, FSU PrimaryHealth has become a medical home for people who haven’t had adequate access to healthcare.”

“We’re reminded that his legacy is not just in bricks and mortar, but the countless patient lives he touched, the medical careers he inspired and the future he helped shape.”

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU PrimaryHealth center is named after the late Dr. Daniel Van Durme