Scott Morey, David Cooke, and Heather Adams lead the nursing units at Desert Care Network, which serves the Coachella Valley and Morongo Basin with three acute care hospitals — Desert Regional Medical Center, JFK Memorial Hospital, and Hi-Desert Medical Center — plus urgent care, ambulatory surgery centers, and primary and specialty clinics.
The network also includes the Comprehensive Cancer Center, our region’s only Level III intensive care unit for newborns, and our area’s only trauma center at Desert Regional. Desert Regional features a comprehensive interventional stroke center, with recently upgraded stroke treatment capabilities at JFK and in the High Desert.
Morey, a Coachella Valley resident for two years, serves as chief nursing officer at Desert Regional and praises his team’s outstanding work in this exceptionally challenging year.
“Our nursing staff went above and beyond providing care to all patients, COVID and non-COVID,” he says. “With the limitations on visitors we had in place, our nurses created an environment of home for our patients and substituted themselves for family members. All staff involved really stepped up, went into overdrive, and provided quality care.”
Cooke is the network’s chief nurse executive, and has been the chief operating officer and chief nursing officer for Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree since 2017. He says the medically diverse facilities offer excellent patient care while also providing ongoing training for novice and experienced nurses.
“Hi-Desert Medical Center is a unique hospital within Desert Care Network,” he says. “It’s rural and intimate, and very much a family atmosphere. A lot of new grads start out at Hi-Desert, and it’s a great opportunity for them to experience many different facets of nursing, from the ED, Inpatient, Labor and Delivery to our comprehensive post-acute services — including skilled nursing, home health and hospice. We encourage cross-training.” There’s also a 25-bed sub-acute unit, the only one in the Morongo Basin for patients who require ventilators, such as recovering COVID-19 patients.
Adams began her healthcare career at age 18. Twenty-seven years later, she’s JFK Memorial Hospital’s chief nursing officer.
“JFK Memorial Hospital and the Desert Care Network,” Adams says, “have a culture of people that deeply care and are very passionate about the jobs they perform and the excellent care that they provide.”
Right now, Morey says, “We have over 100 nursing positions open, ranging from emergency services to trauma services to surgical services and critical care. We take pride in developing our seasoned nurses into experts in other areas of nursing. We also take our new graduate nurses and grow them into strong, solid, caring, compassionate nurses, and eventually leaders.”
The local lifestyle is one of the greatest attractions for prospective medical professionals. “The desert has wonderful winters, bright summers, and quick access to the coastal communities,” he says. “I really enjoy the diverse community in the Palm Springs area.”
Desert Care Network is above all a healthcare team, both for staff and patients, Adams emphasizes. “So, regardless of what hospital that you go to between the three of us, you can expect to receive excellent care every time you go. Whether you’re at JFK in Indio, Desert Regional in Palm Springs, or High-Desert in Joshua Tree, we offer coordinated care that is close to home.”
VIDEO: Scott Morey is the chief nursing officer at Desert Regionla Medical Center.
VIDEO: David Cooke is the Desert Care Network’s chief nurse executive.
VIDEO: Heather Adams is JFK Memorial Hospital’s chief nursing officer.