News

LA GRANDE – Grande Ronde Hospital learned today it has earned a spot as one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in America. The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) made the announcement Wednesday, Sept. 28, during its Critical Access Hospital Conference in Kansas City, MO.

“We are so pleased with this honor. It is further validation of the effort we make to do the right thing for the right reasons. And that is not to win awards – although we couldn’t be happier about this – but to excel in providing the best healthcare for our community, no matter what the current political climate or economic forecast may be,” said Grande Ronde Hospital President and CEO Jim Mattes.

Grande Ronde Hospital was among the Top 100 scoring best on the Hospital Strength Index, a first-ever comprehensive rating of CAHs in a joint effort by NRHA and iVantage Health Analytics. The rating aims to improve and advance rural healthcare business intelligence and benchmarking, and to support the 1,750 rural hospitals seeking to improve performance. The NRHA recognizes the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the nation as the safety net to communities across the country.

"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 as 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.

The new Hospital Strength Index incorporates 56 different measures of performance to help identify those hospitals best prepared for success under the new healthcare reform. The Index includes a unique set of benchmarking measures rating Market Strength, Value-based Strength and Financial Strength:

Market Strength includes competitive strength, intensity, size and growth factors essential to Accountable Care Organizations development.

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.

Financial Strength includes income statement and balance sheet ratios most predictive of long-term sustainability that are essential under an environment of reduced payments.

For more information, contact the Community Relations Department at 541-963-1480.