River Hospital in Alexandria Bay, NY was recently named one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the country. This national ranking is compiled by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, utilizing publicly available data to indicate excellence and sustainability in rural health care. Ranking in the 99th percentile, River Hospital was the only Hospital on the East Coast to make the list.
“We are so honored to have our performance recognized in this way,” said Emily Mastaler, MA, MBA, Chief Executive Officer. “It highlights our staff’s deep and abiding commitment to our mission, which is to sustain seamless access to exceptional and affordable healthcare close to home. We hope that it brings our community pride and reassurance to know that their local Hospital is delivering excellent care when and where it is needed most.”
This national ranking compared River Hospital’s performance against more than 1,300 other Critical Access Hospitals in the country. Critical Access Hospitals are rural facilities which are deemed essential due to their distance from other facilities and are therefore federally designated to reduce financial vulnerability and improve access to healthcare by keeping essential services in rural communities. River Hospital was designated a Critical Access Hospital in 2003.
According to the report, River Hospital is excelling in managing risk, achieving higher quality, securing better outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, and operating at a lower cost than 99% of the other Critical Access Hospitals in the Country. River Hospital ranked highest in care quality, patient perspective and financial categories, and according to the Chartis data, 95% of patients would recommend River Hospital to their family or friends.
“This recognition is a testament to the incredible care provided by the entire River Hospital team,” says Ms. Mastaler. “It truly shows that our community can count on us to deliver the high-quality services they need now and in the future.”
2021 Top 20 Critical Access Hospital winners:
Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital - Miller, S.D.
Barrett Hospital & HealthCare - Dillon, Mont.
Beaver Valley Hospital - Beaver, Utah
Cass County Health System - Atlantic, Iowa
CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington - Carrington, N.D.
Clay County Medical Center - Clay Center, Kan.
Community Medical Center - Falls City, Neb.
Community Memorial Healthcare - Marysville, Kan.
Graham County Hospital - Hill City, Kan.
Howard County Medical Center - Saint Paul, Neb.
Jamestown Regional Medical Center - Jamestown, N.D.
Kingman Healthcare Center - Kingman, Kan.
Kossuth Regional Health Center - Algona, Iowa
Milbank Area Hospital Avera - Milbank, S.D.
Osborne County Memorial Hospital - Osborne, Kan.
Pella Regional Health Center - Pella, Iowa
River Hospital - Alexandria Bay, N.Y.
Towner County Medical Center - Cando, N.D.
Wallowa Memorial Hospital - Enterprise, Ore.
Westfields Hospital and Clinic - New Richmond, Wis.