Lake Wales Medical Center

Lake Wales Medical Center is a hospital in Lake Wales, Florida. It is owned by health care provider Community Health Systems. Lake Wales Medical Center's main building is a general use hospital that includes an emergency department, an intensive care unit and various outpatient services. Nearby, at 1120 Carlton Avenue, Suite 1300, is the hospital Neurodiagnostic and Sleep Center.^[1]

History

The first hospital building was built in 1930 at the site of the current emergency department. It was a community-owned hospital that expanded its facilities over the years. An expansion included the Deeley Hunt Building, which housed a nursing home. In 1997 Mid-Florida Medical Services, the parent company of Winter Haven Hospital, owned Lake Wales Medical Center. In 2003 it was purchased by Community Health Systems (CHS). Since CHS obtained the property, the nursing home was closed and used as patient rooms and offices. Also, the original building was demolished and a new emergency department was built on the original hospital site.^[2][3]

The hospital also has a Neurodisgnostic and Sleep Center at 1120 Carlton Avenue, Suite 1300, one block southeast of the main building.

Ratings

The HealthGrades website provides rating data for Lake Wales Hospital. Of the twelve patient safety indicators listed, Lake Wales scored three below average, seven average and two better than average. Patient survey data on the HealthGrades website says 63% of patients gave the hospital a 9 or 10, which is a high rating. Nationally, 69% of patients gave hospitals a 9 or 10. HealthGrades provided data on ratings in 17 specialties. Sixteen of these were rated as average (3 stars). One was rated as worse (1 star). It should be pointed out this rating scheme only allows three options to be recorded, 1, 3 or 5 stars; there are no options of giving 2 or 4 stars.^[4]

References