At DeSoto Memorial Hospital, we understand that healthcare is personal and we only get one chance to make a good first impression. Our goal is to provide every member of our community with the highest level of healthcare services and exceed your expectations. We have spent over $22 million since May 1st, 2006 on the latest in medical technology to enhance and expand the services we offer to our community. We are continuously recruiting the most qualified physicians to provide services at our state of the art facility. Five new physicians have joined our medical staff in recent months, including Dr. Gordon Page, Dr. Vasant Patel, Dr. Kiersa Durfee, Dr. Fawn Harrison, and Dr. Eiad Youseff. In order to better serve our community the Board of Directors has authorized the completion of; three new surgical suites, 10 bed Post Anesthesia Care Unit, 16-bed Emergency Department, and 32 private patient rooms.
In an attempt to better meet the needs of our community the Hospital has hired new physicians for the Emergency Room. The new ER physician group has become part of the Hospital family and blend with our existing medical staff. Here at DeSoto Memorial Hospital our top-notch Emergency Department physicians and staff attempt to have a 2 1/2 hour turnaround time for patients visiting the ER. Dr. Steven Mishkind is the medical director of the Emergency Department and is responsible for evaluating and enhancing the services we provide. Providing Emergency Care of the highest quality in the shortest possible time is our goal. Our Emergency Department team, in cooperation with all of our other departments, has designed a system to get patients seen quickly and efficiently, allowing us to greatly minimize excessively long ER wait times.
DMH is growing alongside our community and will continue to provide our community with the newest technology available. Some of our onsite laboratory analyzers utilize "space shuttle" technology to analyze blood and urine specimens so that we can better serve our community.
Since the Board of Directors have entrusted the day to day operation of the Hospital to me, my only direction is to make decisions based on one simple premise: "If it is good for the Hospital, it is the right thing to do." I take every success and every failure personally, and I want to know when we fail to meet your expectations. DeSoto Memorial Hospital can and should be your healthcare provider and the primary source of healthcare in our community.
Please enjoy our website and use it to become familiar with all of our products and services. If we can answer any other questions please contact us directly. Remember, we are here to serve you, our community. Come in and see why DeSoto Memorial Hospital will exceed your expectations.
** Mission Statement **
DeSoto Memorial Hospital is committed to the treatment and care of our patients and to the promotion of health and wellness in our community. We intend to be the cornerstone of knowledge, treatment, understanding and compassion in times of need for our community. We pledge to acquire and maintain those human and physical resources essential to meet the needs of our community. We will confront all ethical, technical and moral issues necessary to enhance the quality of life in the community.
** Values **
DeSoto Memorial Hospital has identified its corporate values and we ask each member of our staff to uphold them.
These values include:
Compassion – We treat those we serve and one another with concern, kindness and respect.
Integrity – We are open and honest in all that we do.
Excellence – We are committed to quality and to adding value in every aspect of our work.
Community – We acknowledge our vital role in our local communities and seek to understand and serve their needs.
Professionalism – We strive to uphold and exceed our customer’s expectations within our realm of expertise, without forgetting human compassion, conforming to technical or ethical standards by following a line of conduct and qualities.
Stewardship – We understand the responsibility of utilizing our resources in a prudent manner
We believe that by adhering to these core values that we can provide every patient with the finest level of service.
History Of Desoto Memorial Hospital
DeSoto County has had a healthcare facility since 1913 when Dr. J.A. Simmons opened his small sanitarium just south of Arcadia. In July 1920, the sanitarium was sold to a group of local investors and the name was changed to Arcadia General Hospital. This facility served the needs of DeSoto County residents, as well as neighboring counties, for over forty years. Although some additions and repairs were done, time and wear were taking their toll on the old frame structure. In the early 1960's, a group of local business people felt that it was time to build a new, modern hospital for their growing community.
These local business leaders wrote a special legislative act creating the DeSoto County Hospital District, which was approved in 1965 by the Florida Legislature and approved by the voters of DeSoto County. A local family donated twelve acres of land in Northeast Arcadia that would become the site for DeSoto Memorial Hospital. The Legislative Act permitted Florida taxes from racetrack revenues to make the payments for the Bond Issue, which paid for one-half of the building project. A Federal Hill-Burton Grant and a local fund drive made the other one-half possible. DeSoto Memorial Hospital opened its doors on November 11, 1968.
The next major change occurred in the early 1980's. The hospital's Governing Board and administrative directors could see the need for some improvements in the hospital's physical plant. From a long-range plan, it became clear that an expansion of the hospital and renovation of the original areas would be necessary for the facility to continue to provide adequate health care for its citizens. Months of planning and preparation came to a climax on November 6, 1983, when groundbreaking ceremonies started the multi-million dollar expansion and renovation. Now completed, DeSoto Memorial Hospital is among the most modern and efficient small hospitals to be found anywhere. It is important to note that members of the community, medical staff, and hospital employees pledged over one million dollars to this project and many spent hundreds of hours working to ensure the success of the fund-raising campaign.
On December 20, 1985, the Hospital District transferred the assets and management of the hospital to DeSoto Memorial Hospital, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation. This conversion was done to improve the hospital's ability to develop outpatient and related medical services in order to better compete in today's changing healthcare environment. The seven members of the Board of Directors are appointed for four-year terms by the corporation membership, which is made up of DeSoto County residents.
On January 1994, the DeSoto Memorial Hospital Board of Directors entered into a full-service management agreement with Quorum Health Resources.
DeSoto Memorial Hospital has a full three-year accreditation by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; is licensed by the State of Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services; is a member of the Florida Hospital Association and American Hospital Association.
