Critical access hospitals are fairly unique as acute care hospitals go. They must have no more than 25 inpatient beds, have an annual average length of stay of no more than 96 hours for acute care, offer 24/7 emergency care and be located at least 35 miles from another hospital, according to HHS.
The following 50 meet all of those requirements while going above and beyond to care for their patients. To develop this list, the Becker’s team conducted research and examined several reputable hospital ranking sources relevant to critical access hospitals, such as iVantage Health Analytics, the National Rural Health Association, Healthgrades and CMS’ Hospital Compare, among other sources, including prior lists from this publication.
Note: This list is not an endorsement of included hospitals or associated healthcare providers, and organizations cannot pay for inclusion on this list. Hospitals are presented in alphabetical order.
Sponsored By athenahealth
athenahealth delivers cloud-based HIS solutions ideal for rural, community and critical access hospitals, helping them thrive through change and focus on patient care. Recognized as an industry leader, athenahealth received five 2013 Best in KLAS awards, including #1 Overall Software Vendor and #1 Patient Portal. Unlike conventional health IT systems, athenahealth combines cloud-based software, networked knowledge and back-office services to keep more than 62,000 providers prepared for industry change—everything from Meaningful Use to value-based payment models. Cloud-based software is continually updated at no extra charge, with a single version available to all providers at once, ensuring physician alignment across the care continuum. athenahealth alleviates administrative burden by taking on paperwork, tracking claims, managing pre-registration and more. With athenahealth as a partner, practices and hospitals are well-equipped to thrive today and in an uncertain future.
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital (Lincoln, Ill.). Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital is more than a century old, opening in 1902 as Deaconess Hospital. [READ MORE]
Aspirus Grand View Hospital (Ironwood, Mich.). Aspirus Grand View Hospital was established in 1923 and has served the people of Upper Michigan and northern Wisconsin ever since. [READ MORE]
Avera Holy Family Hospital (Estherville, Iowa). Avera Holy Family Hospital’s history dates back to 1944. [READ MORE]
Barrett Memorial Hospital (Dillon, Mont.). While the hospital has served its community since 1922, this year it is celebrating its three-year anniversary of moving into a new, 83,000-square-foot facility that is LEED Gold certified. [READ MORE]
Boone County Health Center (Albion, Neb.). Boone County Health Center offers healthcare services for the 10,000 residents in the rural north central Nebraska counties of Boone, Antelope, Greeley, western Madison, Nance and Wheeler. [READ MORE]
Brodstone Memorial Hospital (Superior, Neb.). In 1928, Evelyn Brodstone Vestey and her brother Lewis donated funds to the city of Superior to build a hospital in memory of their mother Mathilde. [READ MORE]
Calumet Medical Center (Chilton, Wis.). Calumet Medical Center is part of Appleton, Wis.-based Affinity Health System. [READ MORE]
Cherry County Hospital (Valentine, Neb.). Cherry County Hospital serves people from north central Nebraska and south central South Dakota, as it is situated about 10 miles south of the South Dakota border. [READ MORE]
CHI St. Joseph’s Health (Park Rapids, Minn.). CHI St. Joseph’s Health is part of Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives. [READ MORE]
Community Hospital of Anaconda (Mont.). Located about 25 miles from Butte, Mont., in the southwestern part of the state, Community Hospital of Anaconda has served Anaconda-Deer Lodge County since 1889. [READ MORE]
Cottage Grove (Ore.) Community Medical Center. Cottage Grove Community Medical Center is part of Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth. [READ MORE]
Elizabethtown (N.Y.) Community Hospital. Since 1926, Elizabethtown Community Hospital has served Essex County’s 39,000 residents. [READ MORE]
Fairview Hospital (Great Barrington, Mass.). Fairview Hospital is an affiliate of Pittsfield, Mass.-based Berkshire Health System. [READ MORE]
Gibson General Hospital (Princeton, Ind.). Gibson General Hospital has served its communities for more than 100 years. [READ MORE]
Grant Regional Health Center (Lancaster, Wis.). Grant Regional Health Center opened in 1955 as Lancaster Memorial Hospital with 36 beds. [READ MORE]
Hammond-Henry Hospital (Geneseo, Ill.). This hospital, located about 150 miles west of Chicago, was founded in 1901. [READ MORE]
Hegg Memorial Health Center Avera (Rock Valley, Iowa). Hegg Memorial Health Center has been named as a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital by iVantage Health Analytics for five years straight, most recently in 2015.[READ MORE]
Hudson (Wis.) Hospital. Hudson Hospital’s history dates back more than 60 years. [READ MORE]
Kittitas Valley Healthcare Hospital (Ellensburg, Wash.). KVH Hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary on Dec. 29, 2014, as it first accepted patients on that day in 1964. [READ MORE]
Madison (S.D.) Community Hospital. Madison Community Hospital, which has 200 employees, has been serving Madison and other communities in the area for more than 100 years. [READ MORE]
Magruder Hospital (Port Clinton, Ohio). This 25-bed hospital was certified as a critical access hospital in December 2002. [READ MORE]
Martha’s Vineyard Hospital (Oak Bluffs, Mass.). Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is located on the island of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. [READ MORE]
Mayo Clinic Health System-Red Cedar (Menomonie, Wis.). Mayo Clinic Health System-Red Cedar is a physician-led system that includes a critical access hospital and a clinic. [READ MORE]
Memorial Health Care Systems (Seward, Neb.). This rural system’s hospital, Memorial Hospital, has been serving Seward County residents for more than 60 years. [READ MORE]
Millinocket (Maine) Regional Hospital. Millinocket Regional Hospital opened in its current location in 1955, but its history dates back to 1952 when the hospital corporation was founded. [READ MORE]
Ministry Door County Medical Center (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.). Ministry Door County Medical Center includes the critical access hospital, birthing center, emergency department, cancer treatment center, sleep disorder center and three rehab facilities. [READ MORE]
Mount Desert Island Hospital (Bar Harbor, Maine). Mount Desert Island Hospital’s history dates back to 1898, when the 46-by-84-foot hospital opened with 10 beds. [READ MORE]
Myrtue Medical Center (Harlan, Iowa). Not only does this rural hospital — located in western Iowa, not far from Omaha, Neb. — offer acute care, it is integrated with medical clinics in Harlan and five other nearby towns. [READ MORE]
New Ulm (Minn.) Medical Center. New Ulm Medical Center, a part of Minneapolis-based Allina Health, is a nonprofit hospital and clinic with more than 30 affiliated physicians. [READ MORE]
Orange City (Iowa) Area Health System. Orange City Area Health System replaced its 1960s-era hospital with a new one in May 2006. [READ MORE]
Perry County Memorial Hospital (Perryville, Mo.). Perry County Memorial Hospital was founded in 1951 and operates under the motto of “people care more here.” [READ MORE]
Phillips County Memorial Hospital (Malta, Mont.). Phillips County Memorial Hospital sits in a community of 2,000 people in northeast Montana, about 200 miles from both Billings and Great Falls, Mont. [READ MORE]
Pike County Memorial Hospital (Louisiana, Mo.). Pike County Memorial Hospital has served its namesake county since 1928. [READ MORE]
Providence Hood River (Ore.) Memorial Hospital. Located about 60 miles east of Portland, Ore., Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital serves a five-county area in the Columbia River gorge. [READ MORE]
Redington-Fairview General Hospital (Skowhegan, Maine). This independent hospital has served the residents of Somerset County since 1952. [READ MORE]
Richland Hospital (Richland Center, Wis.). The hospital, located 60 miles west of Madison, Wis., and 65 miles east of La Crosse, Wis., has been accepting patients since 1924, when it was located in a mansion. [READ MORE]
River Falls (Wis.) Area Hospital. This award-winning critical access hospital is part of Minneapolis-based Allina Health.[READ MORE]
Shenandoah (Iowa) Medical Center. Shenandoah Medical Center got its start in 1911 with a $25,000 donation to construct a hospital. [READ MORE]
Sparrow Clinton Hospital (St. Johns, Mich.). Sparrow Clinton Hospital is part of Lansing, Mich.-based Sparrow Health System. [READ MORE]
Speare Memorial Hospital (Plymouth, N.H.). Speare Memorial Hospital, located in the heart of New Hampshire, has welcomed patients since it opened in 1899. [READ MORE]
St. Mary’s Hospital and Clinics (Cottonwood, Idaho). This hospital and its sister hospital, Clearwater Valley Hospital in Orofino, Idaho, are both affiliates of Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health. [READ MORE]
Steele Memorial Medical Center (Salmon, Idaho). Founded in 1950, Steele Memorial Medical Center is a nonprofit 18-bed hospital with an associated rural health clinic. [READ MORE]
Tahoe Forest Hospital (Truckee, Calif.). Tahoe Forest Hospital has served its northeastern California community since 1952. [READ MORE]
Transylvania Regional Hospital (Brevard, N.C.). Transylvania Regional Hospital was formed in 1933 and is now part of Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health. [READ MORE]
University Hospitals Geneva (Ohio) Medical Center. This critical access hospital is part of Cleveland-based University Hospitals healthcare system. [READ MORE]
Waldo County General Hospital (Belfast, Maine). Waldo County General Hospital first opened its doors to patients in 1904.[READ MORE]
West River Regional Medical Center (Hettinger, N.D.). This nationally recognized hospital is tucked away in southwestern North Dakota. [READ MORE]
Whitman Hospital and Medical Center (Colfax, Wash.). Whitman Hospital and Medical Center first opened in May 1893 and has continued to grow, boasting more than 200 employees and 47 physicians today. [READ MORE]
Winneshiek Medical Center (Decorah, Iowa). Winneshiek Medical Center has served people in northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota since 1914 and is now the second-largest critical access hospital in Iowa. [READ MORE]
Yoakum (Texas) Community Hospital. Yoakum Community Hospital has a history dating back to 1922, but it didn’t join the ranks of critical access hospitals until 2004 when it achieved its designation. [READ MORE]
