CEO: Doctors and staff working to improve patient services at JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio

Doctors and staff at JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio now have an extra focus on improving patient services.

That is the word from hospital CEO Gary Honts.

The comment came after the hospital received word on Monday that it won’t be cut off from receiving Medicare reimbursements.

State officials warned the hospital last Summer that it was in danger of losing the funding, after state inspectors discovered a number of problems with patient care.

But the state health department says all the issues have been resolved.

The hospital CEO, who permanently took over in June, says he is instilling a “culture of quality, service and safety” with the goal of eliminating “human error”.

“I’d say that every hospital goes through a process of surveys, and certainly when they have opportunities for improvement, we want to see those, and we want to understand those, and we want to provide the best care that we can for our community,” said Honts.

The CEO says his leadership team is focusing on speeding up services provided by the emergency room, which he says treats 35 thousand patients a year.

Honts also extends an invitation to people who live in the valley, who might simply want to visit the facility.

He says JFK Memorial Hospital exceeds national averages for hospitals tested on “core measures” of quality.