SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – The top leader on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation says he is thankful for the federal inspections that uncovered serious deficiencies at a government-run hospital serving the community.

Oglala Sioux Tribe president John Yellow Bird Steele says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which sent inspectors to the hospital, got the “ball rolling” and is forcing quality-of-care improvements at the facility.

Steele’s remarks came Tuesday during a radio address to the tribe.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday gave the hospital until April 29 to reach an agreement to enter a last-chance remediation program. If the hospital administered by the Indian Health Service doesn’t enter the program, it won’t be allowed to bill the government for services provided to Medicare- and Medicaid-eligible patients after May 16.