Rural areas are sometimes underserved in important respects, ranging from equitable educational opportunities to broadband internet access — and certainly to healthcare.
Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) and Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs) are federal designations that indicate a lack of primary care services for an area or a population. They are based on four factors: ratio of population to primary care providers; infant mortality rate; percentage of population below the federal poverty level; and percentage of population over age 65. (These are the counties with the fewest hospitals.)
Fortunately, there are good hospitals in rural areas around the country, and 24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of the best of them, based on The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Survey for 2020. Leapfrog uses national performance measures to evaluate individual hospitals on safety, quality, and efficiency.
Our list shows that some states fare much better than others when it comes to rural hospitals. The standout is Maine, a state with a relatively small, low-density population. It has no fewer than five top hospitals. Michigan has three and Georgia two. Hawaii, which is as far as one can get from Maine and still be in the United States, has one. Many other states didn’t make the cut. (These are the 25 states with the worst health care systems.)
Click here to see the best rural hospitals
To identify the best rural hospitals in America, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the 2020 Hospital Survey published by The Leapfrog Group, which collects and analyzes data on health care safety and quality in America. The survey rates hospitals on such matters as preventing and responding to patient harm; medication safety; healthcare-associated infections; maternity care; pediatric care; critical care; complex adult and pediatric surgery; care for elective outpatient surgery patients; and elective outpatient surgery for adults and children. To be ranked among the best, a hospital needed to receive an A grade in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, and to score among the highest institutions overall. Hospital locations were manually researched.
Centura Health – Mercy Regional Medical Center
> Location: Durango, Colorado
Mercy Regional, an 82-bed acute-care hospital, is southwestern Colorado’s largest and most technologically advanced medical facility. Mercy’s areas of specialty include orthopedic and spine surgery, cardiology, emergency and trauma care, and cancer care.
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AdventHealth Wauchula
> Location: Wauchula, Florida
AdventHealth Wauchula is a general medical and surgical facility in Hardee County, an agricultural area. It is also a teaching hospital. It received high marks across most categories.
Fairview Park Hospital
> Location: Dublin, Georgia
Fairview Park Hospital is a full-service emergency care facility specializing in diagnostic imaging and joint care, serving Laurens County and the surrounding communities. It scored very high by most measures, but had a weaker score for MRSA infection.
Floyd Polk Medical Center
> Location: Cedartown, Georgia
Floyd Polk Medical Center is a 25-bed, critical access hospital providing round-the-clock emergency and key medical services with support from the Floyd health care system.
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North Hawaii Community Hospital
> Location: Waimea, Hawaii
North Hawaii Community Hospital is a 35-bed rural acute care hospital located in Waimea, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Its mission is “To fulfill the intent of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV to provide in perpetuity quality health care services to improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians and all of the people of Hawaii.”
Our Lady of the Angels Hospital
> Location: Bogalusa, Louisiana
Our Lady of the Angels Hospital is an acute care hospital serving rural Washington Parish, in the interior southeast corner of the state. It achieved mainly top marks across the board, but had a weaker score for its rate of C-sections.
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LincolnHealth
> Location: Damariscotta, Maine
LincolnHealth in Damariscotta features a campus with a 25-bed community hospital; Lincoln Medical Partners, a multi-specialty physician practice; Cove’s Edge, a rehabilitation and long-term care facility; and Chase Point, an assisted living facility.
Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital
> Location: Blue Hill, Maine
Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital in Blue Hill, a peninsula on the Maine coast. It achieved top marks in almost all categories.
Pen Bay Medical Center
> Location: Rockport, Maine
Pen Bay is the largest community hospital in Midcoast Maine. It achieved generally high scores across the board.
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Stephens Memorial Hospital
> Location: Norway, Maine
Stephens is a 25-bed critical access hospital in Norway, a town with a population of about 5,000. The hospital has been named one of the best rural hospitals in the nation several times in recent years.
Waldo County General Hospital
> Location: Belfast, Maine
Waldo County General Hospital operates as a family of services with Waldo County Medical Partners and Penobscot Shores Retirement Community. It is part of the Coastal Healthcare Alliance and the MaineHealth system.
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MidMichigan Medical Center – Gladwin
> Location: Gladwin, Michigan
MidMichigan Health is a non-profit health system affiliated with Michigan Medicine, the health care division of the University of Michigan. It covers a 23-county region with a half-dozen medical centers, including Gladwin.
MidMichigan Medical Center-Clare
> Location: Clare, Michigan
Like its Gladwin counterpart, above, MidMichigan Health’s Clare facility is one of a half-dozen medical centers affiliated with the University of Michigan’s health care division that serve a 23-county region.
ProMedica Bixby Hospital
> Location: Adrian, Michigan
ProMedica Bixby Hospital (now part of ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital) is a general medical and surgical facility. It boasts particular strengths in the specialty areas of pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and critical care.
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Great Plains Health
> Location: North Platte, Nebraska
Great Plains Health is a nonprofit regional referral center serving western Nebraska, northern Kansas, and northern Colorado. It achieved mostly top marks across the board, but had a weaker score for its rates of C-sections and episiotomies.
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital
> Location: Pinehurst, North Carolina
FirstHealth Moore is a 402-bed acute care, not-for-profit hospital that serves as the referral center for a 15-county region in the Carolinas. It is the flagship hospital for FirstHealth of the Carolinas, the region’s first comprehensive health care network.
Mercy Hospital Ada
> Location: Ada, Oklahoma
Mercy Hospital Ada is a 156-bed acute-care facility serving Pontotoc County and the surrounding areas in south-central Oklahoma. It scored high by most measures, but had a weaker score for healthcare associated infections.
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Meadville Medical Center
> Location: Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville Medical Center is a community hospital located in northwestern Pennsylvania. It has a medical staff of more than 100 covering almost 40 medical/surgical specialties.
Memorial Medical Center – San Augustine
> Location: San Augustine, Texas
Memorial is a general medical and surgical facility serving San Augustine and nearby communities.
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