Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals Named

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) announced today at its Critical Access Hospital Conference the names of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in America. The Top 100 scored best on the Hospital Strength Index™, in this first-ever comprehensive rating of CAHs. NRHA also announced a partnership with iVantage Health Analytics to improve and advance business intelligence and benchmarking for rural healthcare and to support the 1,750 rural hospitals whose executives are seeking to improve performance.

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This Index offers hospital executives, trustees and boards of directors an objective way to measure their relative performance among their peers and across 56 different performance metrics, the most comprehensive tool on the market.

"Now is the time for us to advance the analytics and transparency of the rural health sector. We play such a critical role in providing needed care to Americans, yet our challenges are completely different in access while equally complex in delivery as urban hospitals. We celebrate this diversity and these every day challenges and will need new solutions to ensure our sustainability under the Affordable Care Act. NRHA is committed to advancing performance improvement in our hospitals," said Alan Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the National Rural Health Association.

"As we focus on quality at NRHA, we will monitor a complete dashboard of indicators to ensure that our membership has the best information to run their hospitals. Our partnership with iVantage Health Analytics brings us closer with independent and objective resources and information products to best serve our membership," said Lance Keilers, NRHA's incoming President.

The Hospital Strength Index™ reflects the multiple challenges of running a hospital by incorporating the measures on which the industry has worked to gain consensus and standardization. "Rural hospitals have new and difficult demands, that can only be managed with better information," said Hud Connery, President, iVantage Health Analytics. "Bringing together the disparate performance information and making sense of what is already a complex analytical process is critical as health reform becomes a reality. iVantage Health is best positioned in the rural markets to offer meaningful business analytics."

The Hospital Strength Index™ incorporates 56 different measures of performance to help identify those hospitals that are best prepared for success under the new healthcare. The Index includes a unique set of measures rating Market Strength, Value-based Strength and Financial Strength as key pillars for benchmarking and setting new goals under health reform.

• The Market Strength includes competitive strength, intensity, size and growth factors essential to ACO development.  
• The Value-based Strength includes quality, outcomes, patient perspectives, and cost and charge indicators that are essential for earning rewards under CMS' Value-based Purchasing reimbursement incentives.
• The Financial Strength includes income statement and balance sheet ratios most predictive of long-term sustainability that are essential under an environment of reduced payments.

NRHA named the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the nation, as determined by the Hospital Strength Index™, recognizing the top performance of hospitals that are the safety net to communities across the country. The listing of hospitals in alphabetical order follows this release.

The Hospital Strength Index studies are underwritten with support from Anthelio Health Solutions, Inc., Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, and Tea Leaves Health, LLC.  More detailed information about the Index can be found at www.HospitalStrengthIndex.com. Hospitals and industry professionals can view national results, download a copy of the Study Abstract or request market or individual hospital reports.

About National Rural Health Association

NRHA is a nonprofit organization working to improve the health and well-being of rural Americans and providing leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education and research. NRHA membership is made up of 20,000 diverse individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health. For more information, visit www.RuralHealthWeb.org.

About iVantage Health Analytics

iVantage Health Analytics, Inc.™ is a privately held healthcare business intelligence and technology company. The company was formed to be the parent company for Performance Management Institute LLC, The Healthcare Management Council, Inc., Health InfoTechnics, LLC, and The Ratings Guy, LLC.  The businesses ultimately will consolidate assets and operations into one entity. The company is a leading provider of information products serving an expansive healthcare industry. iVantage Health Analytics™ integrates diverse information with innovative delivery platforms to ensure customers' timely, concise, and relevant strategic action. For more information, visit www.iVantageHealth.com.

NRHA Contact: Lindsey Corey 816-756-3140
iVantage Health Analytics: Kathy Gill  877-239-9549

Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in Alphabetical Order by State

SOURCE iVantage Health Analytics, Inc.