Lakeland Regional Announces New Women and Children Medical Pavilion
Lakeland, FL – During a press conference today, Lakeland Regional Health System Board Chairman Jack R. Harrell, Jr. announced plans to create an unparalleled medical destination for women and children on the Lakeland Regional campus. On display was a rendering highlighting a new eight story Women and Children pavilion on the Lakeland Regional campus that includes 300,000 square feet of inpatient and outpatient space. The pavilion will be part of a premier program that is centered on providing personalized and comprehensive care for the women and children of our communities. It will be designed to encompass the full continuum of care for women including: cancer care, women’s cardiology, gynecology, obstetrics, labor and delivery, and women’s surgery; and children including: newborn care, neonatal intensive care, pediatric surgery, pediatric specialties, and pediatric emergency medicine.
“Lakeland Regional is committed to women’s and children’s health and care that is centered on the patient and the family. This new state-of-the-art pavilion reflects the heart of that commitment, as well as, our dedication to service, comfort and the highest standards of quality and care,” said Elaine C. Thompson, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the health system. “The new pavilion will house state-of-the art technology along with the privacy, comfort, and elegance that takes personalized care to new heights of excellence.”
The new medical pavilion will be located on the south side of the Lakeland Regional Medical Center campus adjacent to the current facility and will include:
- A 22 to 33-bed full-service pediatric emergency department,
- 12 private suites for labor, delivery, and recovery,
- 32 private inpatient rooms dedicated to mother and newborn care that enables women and their family members to remain together,
- A new 30-bed state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit with private rooms so that mothers can stay overnight and share private time with their baby,
- 16 to 28 private inpatient rooms dedicated to pediatric care and designed for the comfort of young patients and their families that allows for important together time in a peaceful setting that will also accommodate families who need to stay overnight,
- 64 private rooms dedicated to women’s cardiology, gynecologic surgery, cancer care, and other surgical and medical care for women designed specifically for the unique health needs of women,
- Three (3) surgical suites, and
- An entire floor dedicated to physician office space for specialized medicine centered on women and children.
In addition, the Women and Children Pavilion will house an education and conference center that will focus on medical education and a health and fitness center that ensures health and wellness resources are a central part of the journey to a healthier tomorrow.
“With the area’s only Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Lakeland Regional has always provided the highest quality of care delivering over 3,000 babies each year. In addition, our perinatal programs centered on patient safety are ensuring our most fragile patients are achieving the best outcomes, for the brightest future,” said Janet Fansler, MSN, chief nursing executive and chief operating officer. “Today, this pavilion will help us add the best in pediatric subspecialty areas as we raise our quality even more in the pursuit of establishing a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – the highest level NICU there is.”
Along with putting patients and families at the center of care, Lakeland Regional is also putting patients and families in the center of designing the new pavilion. Last year a CEO Patient and Family Advisory Panel was formed, which will ensure that the Women and Children Pavilion is designed with the highest safety, and comfort, and convenience for the entire family.
“This pavilion is intended to meet the needs of women and children at every stage of their life – not just childbirth,” said Mack Reavis, MD, president of Lakeland Regional Medical Center. “With help from our dedicated physicians and nurses and patient and family advisors we are ensuring the design of this iconic landmark of healthcare will be built from the ground up with care and compassion in mind.”
During the last two years of intensive Master Facility Plan development, the Lakeland Regional Board of Directors has been committed to developing the south side of the campus. Consistent with plans to build physician office space on the south campus, the Women and Children Pavilion will offer an entire floor dedicated to physician offices for specialties and subspecialties centered on the health of women and children. In addition, the coming together of the Lakeland Regional Physician Group and Clark and Daughtrey Medical Group in July 2013 has provided the health system access to over 120,000 square feet of physician office space. Due to this additional capacity, adding new physician office space for training residents is duplicative and unnecessary. As a result, this advances Lakeland Regional’s master facility plan timeline forward to provide patients and families with the planned Women and Children Pavilion sooner, and at a lower cost.
Additionally, Lakeland Regional remains committed to its long range plan of expanding its main campus across Parkview Place in partnership with the City of Lakeland to realize the planned vision of establishing a medical mall corridor.
Construction of the new Women and Children Pavilion is contingent upon regulatory approvals from the city and is expected to begin in 2015 with completion estimated in late 2017. The Women and Children Pavilion will be a $250 million investment into the community, which is the single largest investment and the single largest addition to Lakeland Regional Medical Center in its history.
“From the design of the pavilion to capital fundraising we will be asking our community to help lead the success of our Women and Children Pavilion. Preparations began several months ago when we asked our LRMC Foundation Board of Directors and Women in Philanthropy leadership to help us design ways to garner advocates and philanthropic support, as well as, celebrate continuing our long legacy of caring for our communities,” said Dr. Reavis.