Senior Care Program
At Lakeland Regional Medical Center our patients have been, and always will be, our main priority. In our continuing effort to provide valuable health care information, educational resources and health screenings, LRMC has developed the Senior Care Program for our older residents. This program is offered at no cost to senior citizens and provides the following services:
- Physician Referral Service
- Health Screenings and Immunizations
- Community Education Programs
- Quarterly Senior Newsletter
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Health Information Library
- Advance Directives/Palliative Care Resources
- Nightingale Nurse Program through Volunteer Services
To become a participant in the LRMC Senior Care Program, just fill out the enrollment form below. You will then be contacted to confirm we have received your form, and you will be placed on our Senior Care mailing list.
For more information please call 682-LRMC (5762) or 1-800-687-LRMC (5762) or e-mail amy.taylor@lrmc.com.
In 2007, LRMC partnered with Nurses Improving CAre for Health-System Elders (NICHE), a national program to improve care for older hospitalized adults. Older adults comprise the largest consumers of hospital services, and these patients and their families deserve and expect care that is specialized to their needs.
Patients 65 and older face a variety of health risks. These include, but are not limited to, the following: insomnia, problems with inadequate nutrition, incontinence, risks for falls and increased risk for skin breakdown. Through this program, Lakeland Regional is providing additional education to nursing staff and a core group of Geriatric Resource Nurses who lead and are role models to their peers for best practices in the care of older adults.
We currently have approximately 50 nursing staff members who have completed special training that leads to national certification in gerontology. These nurses are focused across the hospital in providing clinical care in various settings. In addition, we have an expert team of Advanced Practice Nurses specializing in cardiology, critical care, diabetes, medical/gerontology, maternal child health, oncology, palliative care, pediatrics, stroke, surgery and trauma. LRMC employs many disciplines which make up a broad multi disciplinary team to meet the individual needs of older adults.
We are dedicated to improving care for our patients ages 65 and older. Common geriatric syndromes mentioned above can often lead to functional decline and delirium. This often results in increased length of stay and thus increased patient days and hospital costs. Prevention and better management of these conditions is key to improving care for hospitalized older adults and reducing the costs associated with common geriatric syndromes. Nurses have a principal role to play in improving both the outcomes and the hospital experience for older adults.