Excelsior Springs Hospital reports quality gains but warns of ongoing financial challenges

Kristen DeHart, chief executive officer of Excelsior Springs Hospital, told the City Council on June 16 that the hospital maintained strong clinical performance in 2024 even as it worked through financial and billing-system challenges.

DeHart said the hospital recorded “0 hospital acquired infections reported in 2024” and that its emergency-to-transfer time for stroke, trauma and sepsis cases “is consistently under 50 minutes,” adding that door-to-provider time in the emergency department averages about 10 minutes. She also said the hospital’s outpatient clinics grew from about 9,200 visits in the prior year to more than 11,000, and pharmacy doses rose from about 78,000 to 106,000 year over year.

The report matters because the hospital is a critical access provider for northern Clay County; DeHart told the council that access to care, behavioral health and chronic disease remain the community’s top needs and that the hospital’s behavioral health program is expanding to serve children aged 5–19 with funding support from Clay County.

On fina…