JCH&L Named Among Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals Again

iVantage Research Identifies Top Performing Hospitals

FAIRBURY, Neb. — For the fifth time, Jefferson Community Health & Life has been named a top 100 critical access hospital in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health.

“This achievement is very gratifying and validates our daily commitment to providing the best health care possible to Jefferson County and beyond, while maintaining an efficient and effective facility,” said Chad Jurgens, JCH&L CEO.

Jefferson Community Health & Life scored in the top 100 of critical access hospitals (CAHs) on the iVantage Strength INDEX™ in 2019, and previously made the Top 100 list in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. This is the fifth time in six years JCH&L has made the list of Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals. The annual Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals award is based on the results of the Hospital Strength INDEX ® from iVantage Health Analytics, and is regarded as one of the industry’s most significant designations of performance excellence.

Hospitals recognized as a Top 100 facility scored in the top 100 among all Critical Access Hospitals nationally. Now in its ninth year, the INDEX leverages 50 rural-relevant indicators across eight pillars of hospital strength (i.e. Inpatient Market Share, Outpatient Market Chare, Cost, Charge, Quality, Outcomes, Patient Perspective and Financial Stability) to determine an overall score for each hospital. Each of the INDEX’s 50 indicators is culled from publicly-available data sources.

 “In an era of increased complexity and uncertainty, Top 100 hospitals have established themselves as a bellwether for rural provider performance,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader of The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “Top 100 status is a real indicator of how proactive these hospitals are when it comes to pushing for performance improvement in areas such as quality, outcomes, patient safety, market share and finance.”

The list of this year’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals, as well as the 2019 INDEX methodology, can be found at www.ivantageindex.com/top-performing-hospitals.

JCH&L is among 9 Nebraska critical access hospitals to make the Top 100 list for 2019. Others are: Brostone Memorial Hospital; Community Medical Center, Seward; Howard County Medical Center; Johnson County Hospital; Memorial Health Care Systems, Falls City; Pender Community Hospital; Phelps Memorial Health Center; and Providence Medical Center.

In May 2018, JCH&L was recognized by The Chartis Center and the National Rural Health Association for being in the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the nation for 2018.

In November 2018, JCH&L was recognized for the second consecutive year with the Performance Leadership Award for overall excellence in quality, outcomes and patient perspective. The Performance Leadership Award is given by the Chartis Center for Rural Health/iVantage Health Analytics and the National Organization of State Office of Rural Health (NOSORH).

“These recognitions reaffirm that our emphasis on quality, performance and satisfaction are making a difference to the people we serve and to our health center. It is because of the work and care of our staff, physicians and board, and the support of the people of Jefferson County and beyond that we are able to meet and surpass these benchmarks and receive recognition,” Jurgens said.