Congratulations to Excelsior Springs Hospital for being selected as the Business of the Month for October 2017. The following interview was conducted with new CEO Kristen DeHart.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your duties as CEO of Excelsior Springs Hospital.

Hello, My Name is Kristen DeHart and I am proud to represent Excelsior Springs Hospital (ESH) as the CEO. I am a newcomer to the Excelsior Springs area, but have lived in the Northland for the past 25 years. I started with the hospital in June of 2017 and lead the overall operations of the hospital, clinics, long-term care services, home health and hospice. ESH is affiliated with North Kansas City Hospital so I also act as the liaison between our two organizations.

When was the hospital established?

ESH opened in 1904 in a three-story residence. It was moved a few times over the years until 1976, when a new hospital was dedicated at our current location at 1700 Rainbow Blvd in Excelsior Springs.

What would you say makes it unique? (Maybe rephrase to say “What do you want people to know about EHS?

Excelsior Springs Hospital is so amazing! We provide so many different services that many people don’t realize. With over 125 physicians and 300 employees, we offer Emergency medical services (ER) lead by Dr. Brad Hoffman; 15 specialty clinics, provide inpatient and outpatient services, rehabilitation, lab and radiology services on site. Our services extend to our physician clinics in Excelsior Springs and Lawson and through the Express Clinic, located at Price Chopper in Excelsior Springs.

Dr. Brad Hoffman

We also have long-term and residential care, independent living apartments (that are really cute and so reasonably priced!) as well as offering home health and hospice services. I have personally driven through awful metro traffic for services that we provide right here with state-of-the-art equipment, talented, educated health professionals, many who have been employed with ESH for 20+ years, all close to home. There are a lot of healthcare options out there for people to choose from. I encourage everyone to come and take a look at us! Quality healthcare conveniently located close to home!

ESH is very active in the communities.  Please let us know how you are engaged.

We seem to be running all the time and love getting to know and give back to our communities. The hospital is actively engaged with the Chambers of Commerce in Kearney, Excelsior Springs, Lawson and Liberty. ESH is a proud supporter of the various school districts, civic leaders, community events and educational forums. We also have recently engaged with the Clay County Health Department and Tri-County Mental Health Services as a healthcare partner for the Northland Health Alliance. Our goal is to be a solid partner, providing quality healthcare, education and great outcomes as it relates to our communities health needs.

You also offer lots of great classes to our community.  Please let us know some of the ones coming up!

• We are so excited to be hosting our annual “Ladies Night Out” on Thursday, October 5th. At this FREE educational event you can learn firsthand how to get involved and start taking charge of your lifestyle. Ladies Night Out and local speaker, Shannon Wells, come together to bring you an evening of entertainment and empowerment where you can learn the keys to living a healthy lifestyle.
• Diabetes Class – Diabetes is a difficult condition to manage, but it doesn’t have to manage you. Join us for classes to learn how to manage your diabetes during this 6 week course that begins October 2 from 10:00 am – 11:30 am at the ESH Community Room.
• Dementia Support Group is free to the public and offers support for caregivers of those with dementia. This free support group meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month, beginning Wednesday, October 11th. Times are from 6:30 pm -8:00 pm.
• Grief Share is also free to the public and held every Wednesday from 10am – 12pm.

For more classes and health information, please go to our website at www.ESHospital.org.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

Sure! Our Excelsior Springs Hospital Foundation Dinner is coming up. This event is held at the Elms on October 19th and is a wonderful night with great food and fabulous auction items. We are so proud of the Foundation and appreciate all that they do for us. Come and join the fun. Contact Jeanne Buckman at 816-629-2768 to register or to provide a donation!

Also…its FLU SHOT time! All of our ESH clinics have the flu vaccines available and ready to shoot! Come and see us to stay healthy this winter!

Thank you for the opportunity! We appreciate your allowing us the opportunity to share our services!

~Kristen DeHart
Chief Executive Officer