Mind Matters: Lakeland Regional Hospital

The hospital, located at 440 S. Market Ave., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Youth and Family Centered Services in Austin, Texas. YFCS provides child and adolescent psychiatric services via 15 subsidiaries representing more than 30 facilities in 10 states, according to Steve Spence, president and CEO of Lakeland Regional Hospital, the only Missouri property.

Spence says that Lakeland Regional primarily provides psychotherapy and medication management services through inpatient and residential treatment to young people ages 4 to 17. Typical issues are depression, aggressive and disruptive behavior, drug abuse, physical and sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress, autistic tendencies and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Lakeland Regional has 116 beds– 56 for residential patients and 60 for acute patients admitted as a result of crisis situations. The hospital employs 290 people, including, Spence says, “four psychiatrists, a full-time family practitioner, nurses, licensed professional counselors, social workers, teachers, recreational therapists, a full-time pharmacist, behavioral health technicians and a full range of support.”

Treatment and schooling

Parents can obtain treatment for a child by calling the Lakeland Regional intake department and requesting an assessment, Spence says. During the assessment, if a psychiatrist determines that the child meets admissions criteria, the child is admitted.

According to Spence, treatment at Lakeland Regional Hospital is based on information obtained through psychiatric evaluations, psychological testing and a large variety of assessments.

“When all the data is gathered, we form a treatment plan around the child’s particular symptoms and illness,” Spence adds. “Our treatment structure is based around cognitive behavioral therapy, a process of getting kids to think about their decisions and choices. We manage children through verbal intervention. If at all possible, we avoid physical interventions like restraining or secluding a child. Also, the psychotherapy component consists of group, individual and family therapy.”

Lakeland Regional’s facilities include a gym, a swimming pool, an exercise room and three large recreation areas.

“We also have a recreational therapy department that provides classes in cooking and ceramics,” Spence says.

Patients also have access to a computer laboratory and a library. The hospital provides homebound schooling to acute care patients and full-day instruction to residential patients. Both programs are accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and individualized education programs are available to students with special needs.

Residential students participate in the Department of Education’s statewide testing program, and the hospital’s school year parallels the Springfield R-XII School District calendar.

Lori Brown, Lakeland’s vice president of clinical services, oversees clinical operations and ensures that the hospital is in compliance with applicable regulations and accreditation.

“I think it’s our job to help kids, because they’re the people of tomorrow,” Brown says. “We need to take care of them and see that they’re off to a good start. I think we’re a leader in child-psychiatric care.”

Success stories

The work completed at the hospital helped to recruit Dr. Richard Aikin, Lakeland’s medical director.

“I was in private practice in St. Louis and sending a lot of kids here and was really happy with the results the hospital was getting,” recalls Aikin, an adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist. “When I came here, I couldn’t believe the kids were busy all day. This is a fine hospital.”

Medically indigent families can find help at Lakeland with the assistance of Medicaid. “Medicaid in Missouri does a pretty good job of paying for acute services,” says Spence.

Lakeland Regional has its successes, Spence says.

“We assess and score improvement in risk factors such as (suicidal and homicidal tendencies), aggression and depression, and high-risk behavior including criminal behaviors. We also look at satisfaction items. In all of these areas, we see improvement. We have received quite a few letters from kids we’ve helped become productive and successful. That is an important measure of success to us.”

Q&A with Steve Spence, Lakeland Regional Hospital’s president and CEO

Q: What is the most common problem you deal with?

A: Depression. But it’s also very responsive to the type of therapy we provide.

Q: What is the most difficult problem you treat?

A: Gang-related behaviors. I guess the best example would be the cliques that develop within gangs and the hatred of another group of people. It’s hard to convince kids that we’re all just people and that how we function in society is determined by factors other than our appearance or cultural differences.

Q: What are some of the greatest challenges for your staff?

A: Some of our kids have accepted family norms that do not fit with existing societal norms; for example, drug use, sexual and physical abuse, and group hatred. One of our greatest challenges is to change the child’s perspective on those norms.

Q: What seems to be the No. 1 source of these problematic behaviors?

A: One of the biggest problems in children’s psychiatry is inadequate parenting skills. There seems to be a lack of balance in whether a parent allows the child to control the environment or whether the parent is too controlling and becomes abusive.

Lakeland Regional Hospital

Founded: 1989

Owners: Youth and Family Centered Services (Austin, Texas)

Address: 440 S. Market Ave., Springfield, MO 65806

Phone: (417) 865-5581 or (800) 432-1210

Fax: (417) 865-5964

Web site: www.lakeland-hospital.com

Services/Products: Residential and inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry

Employees: 290