Indio Police Chief Richard Twiss joins Indio Mayor Pro Tem Glen Miller, Dr. Beverly Blessing, CEO Gary Honts, Healthgrade’s Grant Oliver and La Quinta Mayor and JFK representative Linda Evans.

Each year 360 million visitors access Healthgrades, the leading online resource helping consumers make informed decisions when seeking quality doctors, hospitals, and care. Their data is compiled through annual evaluations of clinical outcomes for over 4,500 hospitals across the country.

Awards of excellence are given to those hospitals receiving 5-star ratings, and for 2016, JFK received a Joint Replacement Excellence Award placing them among the top 10% in the country. JFK has consistently performed in the top categories receiving 5-star distinctions in hip fracture treatment for 9 consecutive years; total hip replacement for 5 consecutive years; and total knee replacement for an astounding 12 years in a row.

“Based on quality of care, we find JFK to be at the top in the country,” said Grant Oliver, associate director of quality solutions at Healthgrades. “If all hospitals as a group performed at this level, roughly 230,000 lives could potentially have been saved and 170,000 complications potentially avoided (in a two-year period).”

Those hospitals with 5-star ratings have a 65-70% lower risk of complications compared to those with a 1-star rating.

“Today’s announcement is just one more step towards the goal of becoming a top 100 community hospital in the nation,” said CEO Gary Honts. “The eastern Coachella Valley is the fifth fastest growing economic region in California, and we realize that JFK has a critical role to play in maintaining the health of our families, our friends, our neighbors and our visitors.”

When taking the top position three years ago, Honts committed to raise JFK to the next level of care. “A sincere thanks to all of you who have helped move our culture to the next level of commitment of excellence,” he said addressing some of the members of his 600 employee team.

“JFK is the smallest hospital in the valley, but as you can tell, we are very strong,” said Dr. Beverly Blessing who read letters from patients and families expressing their deep appreciation, not only for the quality of care they received, but also for the empathy, concern and consideration received from employees throughout all departments of the hospital.

“We have 50 years of serving the eastern Coachella Valley proudly and with quality to our friends,” said Honts, “and we are well positioned to meet the growing needs for the next 50 years.”

The complete Healthgrades 2016 Report to the Nation can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.