NEW ULM, Minn. 3/1/2019 — New Ulm Medical Center today announced it has been named one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Regarded as one of the industry’s most significant designations of performance excellence, the annual Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals award is based upon the results of the Hospital Strength INDEX® from iVantage Health Analytics.
"We are gratified to have earned this award for the eighth time in the nine years it has been awarded. It is significant because it validates the strategy and hard work of our team to deliver outstanding care and high value to our patients," said New Ulm Medical Center President Toby Freier. "The award is based on objective measures that are utilized across the industry to determine value and they are accepted measures in terms of quality, care outcomes and patient experience. Our high ranking demonstrates the deep commitment our physicians and staff have to continuously improving health care for our communities."
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.”
Allina Health is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness and enhancing the greater health of individuals, families and communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A not-for-profit health care system, Allina Health cares for patients from beginning to end-of-life through its 90+ clinics, 10 hospitals / 13 campuses, 15 retail pharmacies, and many specialty care centers and specialty medical services, home care, and emergency medical transportation services.