Northwest Iowa — Four area hospitals — two of them in our primary coverage area — have been named 2020 Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals by The Chartis Center for Rural Health.
We are told that the annual award honoring rural hospital performance is determined by the results of iVantage Health Analytics’ Hospital Strength INDEX.
In our primary coverage area, the two hospitals of distinction are Orange City Area Health System in Orange City and Avera Merrill Pioneer Hospital in Rock Rapids. Nearby hospitals also on the list are Floyd Valley Healthcare in Le Mars and Sanford Luverne Medical Center in Luverne, Minnesota.
Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System, says that they are sincerely grateful for this recognition and what it signals to them in the execution of their mission. He says, “Realizing that a health system never fully arrives at perfection, this is affirmation that we may be on the right path as we seek to serve our region in an appropriate and comprehensive manner.”
The Chartis Center says that the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance, and it’s based entirely on publicly available data. Utilizing 50 independent indicators, the INDEX assesses performance across eight pillars of performance that span market-, value- and finance-based categories. Hospitals recognized as a Top 100 facility had one of the 100 highest overall scores among all Critical Access Hospitals nationally.
The list of this year’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals as well as the INDEX methodology can be found at www.ivantageindex.com/top-performing-hospitals.
