Maya Lora|The Ledger
LAKELAND— Lakeland Regional Health will begin scouting for its first medical residents next year.
The local hospital has received initial accreditation to establish its first two graduate medical education residency programs in general surgery and internal medicine. The programs officially launch July 1, 2023, and residents will be recruited in 2022, according to a statement provided by LRH Medical Center President and LRH Chief Medical OfficerDr. Timothy Regan and Designated Institutional Official for graduate medical education Nancy Finnigan.
Additional residency programs are under development and review and will include emergency medicine,family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, a surgical critical care fellowship and a transitional year. The family medicine residency will be hosted at LRH's planned 22-acre expansion into North Lakeland near Kathleen Road.
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Lakeland Regional Health has also received initial accreditation as a Sponsoring Institution through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, according to the statement.
LRH declined an interview request, but instead provided a statement on the upcoming programs.
"This GME endeavor is a wonderful opportunity to establish a tradition here at Lakeland Regional Health of academic excellence alongside our record of clinical excellence," the statement reads. "And it provides our community with increased access to high-quality healthcare, which can only improve health outcomes for our residents."
Danielle Drummond, president and CEO of LRH, presented the new program to city commissioners at their Nov. 15 meeting. The teaching program is a key component of the long-term future of the hospital.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully getting COVID in the rearview mirror and be able to focus on some of the excitinggrowth and development opportunities that we’ve outlined as we look ahead for the organization," Drummond said.
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LRH is the fifth largest hospital in Florida and the 44th largest in the country with 864 beds, Drummond said. Its lack of graduate training puts the hospital out of line with competitors of a similar size.
“We’re one of the largest hospitals in the country that does not teach physician residents. And we really feel that we’re missing out on the opportunity to contribute to that learning of the next generations of physicians," Drummond said. "Moreover, we know from looking at the top-ranked hospitals in the country that they are all teaching hospitals."
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Drummond said the addition of residents, their teaching faculty and the additional research and education will further the hospital's work across various clinical services, which should help relieve some of the accessibility problems throughout the county.
According to Drummond's presentation, Polk County has one primary care provider for every 2,080 persons, compared to a rate of one provider for every 1,380 persons across the state of Florida. When it comes to mentalhealth, the county has one provider for every 1,070 persons, compared to a one to 590 persons ratioacross the state. But the new teaching program will help.
“It will greatly increase the access to healthcare services for those in our community that really need it the most," Drummond said. "We have a huge gap that we need to fill."
Medical residents will be able to see patients in their training environment. The plan is to recruit 190 residents across eight programs annually, boosting the number of care providers available. That will be especially helpful in the future, as Drummond hopes residents will choose to stay in the Polk area and practice after their residency is complete.
Residents alone won't fill the gap. The Florida Hospital Association projects a statewide shortage of over 59,000 nurses by 2035, for example.
"I think we're going to have particular strain just because we know the growth and the demand for services will continue to grow here locally," Drummond said.
The gap has been noticed by other healthcare providers already.
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Matt Taylor, senior vice president of asset strategy for Orlando Health, said the nonprofit felt there was a gap in service in the county, which Orlando Health could fill with more beds as well as acceptance of additional insurance programs and other coverage.
Orlando Health recently announced its Lakeland Highlands Hospital will open in fall 2024, with construction starting next spring.
The medical residency program will have five years from its start date to reach its 190-resident capacity, Drummond said.
Maya Lora can be reached with tips or questions at mlora@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @mayaklora.
