Critical Access TOP Hospital – Nine -Time Recipient

West River Health Services in Hettinger was recently named one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health for 2022.

"Even though healthcare has gone through tough times in recent years, West River Health Services continues to rise above our peers and our employees and our communities should feel incredibly proud of the work that we do every day," said Matt Shahan, CEO.

"The Top 100 program continues to illuminate strategies and innovation for delivering higher quality care and better outcomes within rural communities," said Michael Topchik, National Leader, and The Chartis Center for Rural Health. "We are delighted to be able to spotlight the efforts of these facilities through the INDEX framework."

In the last 11 years, the INDEX has grown to become the industry's most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Based entirely on public data and utilizing 36 independent indicators, the INDEX assesses rural hospitals across eight pillars of performance, including market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and financial efficiency. The INDEX framework is widely used across the nation by independent rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, and state offices of rural health, which provide access to INDEX analytics through grant-funded initiatives.

About West River Health Services (WRHS)

West River Health Services is a nationally recognized rural healthcare organization serving the residents of Southwest North Dakota and Northwest South Dakota, based in Hettinger. The organization operates a 25-bed critical access hospital (acute, ICU, labor, and delivery) complemented by clinic operations in Bowman, Scranton, New England, Mott, and Lemmon, SD. WRHS offers a multi-specialty group practice in Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, OBGYN, General Surgery, Podiatry, an onsite Radiologist, and Optometry services. The organization collaborates with the University of North Dakota School of Medicine to train Resident Physicians in a rural setting through the Rural Training Track as well as third and fourth-year medical students through the Rural Opportunities in Medical Education (ROME) program. West River Health Services offers speech, physical, and occupational therapy, cardiac rehab, state-of-the-art radiology, laboratory services, stress testing, sleep studies, and behavioral health services. Visiting Physicians offer orthopedics, cardiology, and

audiology services. The health system encompasses home nursing care, assisted living, and a skilled nursing facility.