Lakeland ER ranked 2nd busiest in country
Carla Bayron reports
LAKELAND, Fla. - Lakeland Regional Health's emergency room department is ranked the second busiest in the country, according to the hospital magazine, "Becker's Hospital Review."
"We're the only trauma center in Polk County," said April Novotny, the hospital system's chief nurse executive and vice president of the Medical Center. "We're the only pediatric center in the county and Obstetrical-ED."
On average, the emergency department treats 500 to 700 patients per day and there are plenty of reasons why they’re so busy.
"We're by some of the major roadways," said Timothy Regan, the chief medical officer and president of the Medical Center. "It's a growing community and there's a lack of access to primary care for a lot of patients in the community."
Patients simply can't afford insurance, but there's also a shortage of primary care providers in Central Florida in general.
"Which is one of the reasons we chose to pursue our graduate medical education program, so we can bring and train new physicians in our community which will help that problem," said Novotny.
Lakeland Regional is constructing new facilities to make their services more accessible throughout the city including a freestanding ER off South Florida Avenue to accommodate more patients in South Lakeland. It's expected to be built some time in 2024.
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Even though they're busy, health officials say they're able to handle the influx efficiently.
"Our goal is to have patients seen or treated or sent home or hospitalized within 3 hours about 80% of the time," said Regan.
