Mayo Clinic network spreads into region

As part of an expansion among major health care providers nationwide, Lakeland Regional Health has partnered with the Mayo Clinic Care Network to share clinical information and collaborate on patient care.

As a result, Lakeland Regional physicians will have access to Mayo electronic consulting, Mayo databases on treatment, information on patient care “best practices” and conferences where complex cancer cases are discussed with Mayo members and physicians.

Lakeland Regional providers also will have access to Mayo Clinic libraries and archives of patient educational materials, according to a statement.

“We continue to deliver on our promise to strengthen the health of this community through strategic clinical relationships,” says Lakeland Regional President and CEO Elaine Thompson.

Lakeland Regional underwent a comprehensive review and evaluation before being invited into the Mayo network, officials say. The 849-bed hospital system also contains a Level II trauma center and neonatal intensive care unit and the state's busiest single-site emergency center.

Dr. Ryan Uitti, Mayo's medical director for the Southeast, says Lakeland Regional offers “high quality, patient-centered care.”

“We share its focus, and we welcome the opportunity to work more closely with its medical professionals,” Uitti adds.

Mayo, which is based in Minnesota and operates a major campus in Jacksonville, cares for more than 1 million patients annually. The hospital system is considered one of the premier health care providers and foremost cancer specialists in the world.

In all, Mayo has more than 40 member organizations in the U.S., Mexico, Asia and the Middle East.

Lakeland Regional's partnership comes as major hospital systems across the country are partnering with health care providers nationwide. Along the Gulf Coast, for instance, Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Health System last year struck a formal relationship with All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.