Message from the President

As the holidays near, this is the time of year we might think a little more about family, about being grateful, and about giving back. This is also the perfect time to renew our commitment to love and respect and caring for patients with our whole hearts.

At Lakeland, we want to be known by our friends and neighbors as a place to receive excellent care. But we can’t have excellent care without compassion. Relationships are at the center of health, healing, happiness, and longevity. Evidence shows that this is even more important now than when we first launched the Bring Your Heart to Work campaign at Lakeland several years ago. It’s not just about caring for someone’s physical health. There’s an emotional side to health care too.

We’ve cared for patients well. In fact, we’ve done it better than most, but we cannot forget about the compassionate side of health care. It’s so critically important, and I know many of you have taken this to heart. I’d like to share a few of the stories I’ve heard just recently:

When an elderly woman with an injured ankle was trying to make her way through the parking lot at Lakeland Medical Center, St. Joseph, a team member took notice. She approached the woman and held her arm to help her stay safe and get to her vehicle without falling.

When a team member in a wheelchair could only find a parking spot on the fourth floor of the parking garage and the elevators happened to be unavailable, a team member went out to help him get to the ground floor and into his place of work.

When a patient used his walker to travel from his downtown Niles apartment to the medical offices building for assistance with medical bills, one financial advocate team member went out of her way to help him. She assisted with setting up payment plans and placed calls to other non-Lakeland establishments because the patient didn’t know how to do so. She helped this patient gain some financial peace of mind.

These stories are just a few examples of team members living out love and respect. And none of these things are very difficult to do. There are always opportunities to help others if we take notice. Each act, big or small, shows that Lakeland is committed to compassionate care.

It’s time to commit to this with all of our hearts this holiday season. My hope for each one of you, and each one of our patients, is that this will truly be a heartfelt season.

If you would like to read more of Message from the President, click here