On March 4th, the Chartis Center for Rural Health released its annual list of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the United States. Fillmore County Hospital made the list. This is the same group that recognized FCH as a top 20 hospital for its quality of care in 2019. The criteria for being an overall top 100 hospital are based on the Hospital Strength Index and spans multiple areas: market share, quality of care, patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, cost, charge, and financial efficiency.
Critical access hospitals, by definition, are small hospitals (25 beds and under) in rural areas that are in place to serve residents that would otherwise need to travel a long distance for emergency and hospital care. There are roughly 1350 critical access hospitals in the United States and they are heavily distributed in the Midwest. There are 64 located in Nebraska. Nebraska was well represented on the Top 100 list with 13. In comparison, Iowa had 10, Kansas had 17, South Dakota had 6, Colorado had 2, and Missouri had 0.
Over the past several years, the Chartis Center for Rural Health and the Hospital Strength Index has become the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of hospital performance. Its metrics are based entirely on public CMS data. “The Top 100 program continues to illuminate strategies and innovation for delivering higher quality care and better outcomes within rural communities” said Michael Topchik, National Leader, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Chris Nichols, CEO of FCH commented, “This recognition shows FCH’s commitment to putting the patient at the center of everything we do. We are constantly trying to improve our processes, our communication, our quality of care, and our system of care delivery. To be recognized right now during this unprecedented time is special and a credit to our amazing staff. We are very grateful and humbled by this honor.”
View the full list of Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals here: 100 top critical access hospitals, by state (beckershospitalreview.com)
