JCH&L Named Among Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the Nation

Jefferson Community Health & Life, Fairbury, was recently named one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for overall performance in the country.

“JCH&L is proud of the efforts of the physicians and staff who have contributed to our hospital achieving Top 20 status,” said Holly Wolff, JCH&L CEO.  “Our results as a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital means our community can count on us to deliver the services they need now and in the future.”

The Top 20 CAHs, including JCH&L scored best among CAHs as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health for overall performance. The rankings were recently announced by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). An awards ceremony will be held during NRHA’s Critical Access Hospital Conference in September in Kansas City, Mo. The Top 20 CAHs have achieved success in overall performance based on a composite rating from eight indices of strength: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance. This group was selected from the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2026 top 100 CAH list, which was released earlier this year.

“JCH&L offers a gold standard of care,” Wolff said. “Attaining Top 20 status shows that we really do live that excellence that we want to demonstrate to our patients and to our community members. The recognition really puts a spotlight on the excellence we offer every day.”