About Us

A History of Compassionate Care for the Mentally Ill

Lakewood Center is part of the La Amistad Foundation, an organization founded in 1970 as a halfway house, providing a broad spectrum of services for adolescents with severe mental illness. (La Amistad means "friendship" in Spanish.) In 1989 La Amistad Foundation became Lakewood Center and shifted its focus to providing quality long-term care for adults with chronic mental illness. Lakewood Center continues to provide a supportive, therapeutic community for adults in need of long-term mental health care.

La Amistad Foundation, Inc., dba Lakewood Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Lakewood Center is a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the American Residential Treatment Association (ARTA).

"It encourages our hearts that we have our son with caring people."

Acknowledge

the needs of our residents with chronic mental illness and their families

Respect

each and every resident as a person, looking beyond illness

Support

our residents by providing a therapeutic community with services to improve their quality of life


Supportive Mental Health Treatment Services

Lakewood Center is a long-term residential treatment community for adults ages 21 and over who are in need of mental health treatment. The minimum length of stay is 6 months. Please call to inquire about private pay monthly rates.

At Lakewood Center, our trained 24-hour staff provide a wide range of psychiatric care services along with recreational opportunities, wellness programs, and a Therapeutic Work Program. Our programs vary in the degree of structure and supervision to meet the specific emotional, social, and physical needs of each resident.

Our services include group therapy, crisis counseling, medication monitoring, and individualized treatment planning to help our residents manage the symptoms of their mental illnesses so they can enjoy life to the fullest. The primary goal of our voluntary Therapeutic Work Program is to involve our residents in meaningful work on campus, thus improving the quality of their lives. Lakewood also teaches the benefits of volunteerism and offers volunteer opportunities on campus as well as selecting community projects that match their talents and interests.

Care Coordination

Our clinical team assists each resident with individualized treatment, helping with budget assistance, coordination of doctors' appointments, correspondence with families and other treatment providers, etc. Lakewood staff members are available 24 hours a day, but Lakewood does not continuously monitor its residents.

Therapeutic Programming & Services

Our therapeutic programming and services include supportive counseling, medication monitoring and observation, crisis management, psychoeducational programming, daily therapy groups, development of individualized structure and meaningful daily activities, and health and diabetes education classes with a registered nurse.

Supervised Community Living

This program is licensed as a residential treatment program Level V by the State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Residents can transition to off-campus living and participate in their own individualized daily treatment plan. In addition to our Therapeutic Programming & Services, SCL residents will receive individual and group supervision via SCL Manager.

Medication Management

Our Medication Management process assists residents by observing self-administration of medication, performing regular medication audits, collaborating with the pharmacy, and assistance with planning for offsite self-administration of medication. Our staff members maintain communication with the psychiatrists, primary care doctors, and specialists between visits as needed for continuity of care.

Therapeutic Work Program

This voluntary program enables residents to pursue meaningful work on and off campus, improving their quality of life. It provides residents with purpose, responsibility, and increased self-esteem. In addition to pay for their services, residents learn social skills and experience the benefits of teamwork. The Job Club is open to all residents and focuses on teaching skills necessary for success. After treatment team consultation, residents are assisted with finding employment within the community. Examples include: Food Bank, pet rescue, visits to nursing homes, Clean the World, campus beautification etc.

Social & Recreational

Lakewood offers daily social and recreational activities, including fitness programs with professional trainers, arts and crafts, music appreciation, basketball, swimming, and pontoon boat rides. Beaches, parks, museums, and local attractions are common community outings. We offer an on-campus computer lab with Wi-Fi. Our annual overnight trips have included Westgate River Ranch Resort, St. Augustine, Clearwater Beach, Caribbean Cruises.


Is Lakewood Right for Your Family?

Lakewood Center welcomes admission inquiries from families, physicians, and mental health professionals.
Please take a look at our Admissions page to see if Lakewood is right for your family!

Meet The Team

Sarah Summey

CEO

Jake Talley

Outgoing Executive

David Lawrence-Hawley

Clinical Director

Pam Lee

Human Resources Director

Marlene Sands

Development Director

Shirley Armstrong

Program Director

Allie Tarlton

Director of Health

Louis Walker

Plant and Safety Director

Lindsey Stout

Director of Finance

Manny Gonzalez

Groundskeeper/Maintenance Associate

Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month is nominated by a vote of all the Lakewood staff with a comment about why they are nominating their coworker. Here are some of the accolades Manny's coworkers gave with this month's nomination.
CONGRATULATIONS, Manny, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!

Testimonials

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