Trauma Center

Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center is a Level II Trauma Center providing initial trauma care, regardless of the injury, with physician subspecialists promptly available. Florida has 36 trauma centers – 10 Level I centers, 23 Level II centers (Two are a Level II and Pediatric Trauma Center).

LRH became a state approved Level II Trauma Center in 1998 and is the only designated trauma center for Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties. While this is LRH’s primary service area, trauma patients are also received from other counties, including Hillsborough and Pasco. Expert trauma care was provided for more than 3,600 injured patients at LRH in 2020. Of these patients, 82% were residents of Polk County. The majority of trauma patients at LRH are between the ages of 18 and 91.

Expert Care

The nine full-time Trauma Surgeons at LRH provide trauma call on a continuous basis under the leadership of the Trauma Medical Director Olumide Sobowale, MD. The Trauma Surgeons are Board Certified in Surgery and Critical Care Medicine and provide 24-hour coverage for trauma patients in the ICU.

A trauma patient’s hospital stay begins in the Emergency Department, where a multidisciplinary team of specially trained nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, radiology technologists, and pharmacists provide the initial trauma resuscitation. Trained staff and state-of-the-art equipment are immediately available and prioritized when a trauma alert is imminent. An operating suite and a team credentialed in trauma are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.