New program to create more than 200 residencies
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LRMC
Dr. Steve Klasko, dean of the USF Medical School, talks about the merger of the university with Lakeland Regional Medical Center as Dr. Elaine Thompson, Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields and LRMC Board of Directors Chairman Bill Mutz lend their support.
Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s recent merger with USF’s medical school to provide after-medical-school residencies for doctors is expected to bring Polk County’s doctor deficit down, according to local health officials.
Polk County is shy doctors in psychiatry, obstetrics and general practice or primary care, said LRMC board of directors chief Bill Mutz, and this long-term residency program will keep doctors graduating from USF’s medical school into staying in Florida to complete their specialization residencies.