Lakeland, FL – Lakeland Regional Health President and Chief Executive Officer, Elaine C. Thompson, PhD, FACHE, announced today that after careful consideration, Orlando Health and Lakeland Regional Health will end their Affiliation on September 30, 2018.
Of the change, Dr. Thompson said, “We appreciate our Orlando Health colleagues and look forward to future opportunities to work together on mutually beneficial projects.
“The goals of the affiliation, which were to improve access to care, advance clinical programs and enhance the quality of the services provided by each system, have been closely evaluated since the agreement was implemented. We have concluded that because of our different strategies and distinctive communities served, these goals can best be achieved independently.
“Lakeland Regional Health was financially strong going into the affiliation and remains financially strong today. The assets of the hospital always remained under the control of the City of Lakeland.”
Lakeland Regional Medical Center/Lakeland Regional Health System Board Chair, Laura Hawley, said, “Lakeland Regional Health will continue to pursue healthcare management strategies that are in the best interests of the patients and families we serve. This new direction will have no impact on our ability to deliver high quality services and we remain more committed than ever to the patients and communities in and surrounding Polk County.
About Lakeland Regional Health
Not-for-profit Lakeland Regional Health reaches beyond its hospital walls to promote wellness, education and discovery in new places and new ways, providing a wide range of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services at its Medical Center, Hollis Cancer Center and ambulatory care locations. Lakeland Regional Health earned Most Wired Advanced and Most Wired status four times since 2013 from the American Hospital Association and has earned workplace awards from Forbes, Gallup and Becker’s Hospital Review. Its 892-bed comprehensive tertiary referral hospital, Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, operates a Level II Trauma Center, the Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children which includes a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the Bannasch Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation Medicine.