Rio Grande Hospital Named Top Critical Access Hospital

Rio Grande Hospital (RGH) in Del Norte, Colorado was recently named one of the top 20 critical access hospitals (CAHs) for Top 20 in Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and Top 20 in Quality in the country.

The top 20 CAHs, including (RGH), scored best among CAHs as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health as Top 20 Hospitals and Top 20 for quality. 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 2025 top 100 CAH list, which was released earlier this year.

The top 20 CAH best practice recipients have achieved success in one of two key areas of performance:

Quality index: A rating of hospital performance based on the percentile rank across rural-relevant process of care measures.

Patient perspective index: A rating of hospital performance based on the percentile rank across all 10 HCAHPS domains.

This is a great honor for (RGH) and speaks to the resiliency of a great team that is committed to patient satisfaction and quality care.  This is our second time to receive this honor. RGH places high emphasis on giving the best care to our patients and families, which includes being consistent with quality care, compassion and commitment to be the best for our community,” says Arlene Harms, CEO of RGH.

NRHA is a nonprofit organization working to improve the health and well-being of rural Americans and provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education, and research. NRHA’s membership is made up of diverse individuals and organizations from across the country, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.

Chartis is a comprehensive health care advisory firm dedicated to helping clients build a healthier world. We work across the health care continuum with more than 900 clients annually, including providers, payers, health services organizations, technology and retail companies, and investors. Through times of change, challenge, and opportunity, we advise the industry on how to navigate disruption, pursue growth, achieve financial sustainability, unleash technology, improve care models and operations, enhance clinical quality and safety, and advance health equity. The teams we convene bring deep industry expertise and industry leading innovation, enabling clients to achieve transformational results and create positive societal impact.  For more information, visit www.chartis.com.