BELLE GLADE, Fla. — Changes are coming to the western communities to improve the quality of healthcare for people living in the Glades.
WPTV's Joel Lopez is digging into a new partnership by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) to help run Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade.
Lakeside Medical is the only public hospital of its kind serving the Glades community for miles that has been under the care of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County for 15 years.
WATCH: 'They don't have everything people need,' Samantha Fowler says
"The services are awesome but they don't have everything people need when they come here, so it's like limited," said Samantha Fowler.
She was born and raised in Belle Glade and said she relies on Lakeside Medical for minor health issues, but has to leave town for more complex medical needs.
"Where are people having to go if they can't get services here?" asked Lopez.
"Palm Beach, or Wellington, it's a long way," said Fowler.
A big issue for people in the Glades who may be limited on transportation.
The Health Care District of Palm Beach County along with TGH hosted a town hall where nearly 200 residents attended to ask questions about the partnership.
We worked to find solutions and Lopez sat down with vice president and administrator at Lakeside Medical Center Ron Doncaster.
He wanted to clarify this is neither a merger nor an acquisition, it's a partnership, a collaboration.
"What was the issue that was happening here?" asked Lopez.
"So, there's a multitude of issues," said Doncaster. "We see things that should and can't happen and we're taking action now."
He said one conflict has been physicians who work with other hospitals and have been sending Glades patients there.
Doncaster said this has led to an issue with physician availability at Lakeside Medical Center, an issue he plans to address "aggressively" but "collaboratively."
"We want the folks that we are contracted with to practice here and keep the patients here," said Doncaster. "Everybody needs the opportunity for great access."
He said they are working to restructure physician contracts in efforts to solve the number of days they're at Lakeside Medical Center, but also ways to make their positions more competitive than other hospitals.
The partnership with TGH will provide staff and patients Lakeside Medical Center with a large network of resources.
They're analyzing data of patients that visit Lakeside Medical Center but are sent to other locations, what other markets are outsourcing resources and what services they can expand on to make Lakeside Medical Center a one stop shop of medical care for the Glades communities.
"Competitiveness in this and this effort comes second, what we're thinking about first is what do they need and how do we get it here," said Doncaster. "I think that will naturally make us competitive but the first thing we're focused on is how do we get them what they need."
The top three services they're planning on introducing and improving are neurology, urology, gastrointestinal.
"We have state of the art imaging equipment, we have MRI CT we have ultrasounds, we have a full-scale lab right here we have a great pharmacy on site, we have everything we need to do most things," said Doncaster. "And so to bring those together for the community in one place, I think it's going to make a really powerful impact.'
Doncaster pointed out Lakeside Medical Center is along a bus route, to help residents get access to the hospital.
They also have a cafeteria that helps to provide meals.
"I love it," said Fowler. "I just wish that you could do a little bit more, more doctors, expand it, open back up the maternity ward, that will help a lot."
