NRHA announces 2026 top 20 critical access hospitals

The 20 highest-ranked critical access hospitals (CAHs) in the country, as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, were recently announced by NRHA.

An awards ceremony will be held during NRHA’s Critical Access Hospital Conference in September in Kansas City, Mo.

The determining factors for the top 20 CAHs are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX and its eight indices of performance: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance.

This elite group of hospitals was selected from the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2026 top 100 CAH list, which was released earlier this year.

“NRHA is committed to ensuring our members have the best information to manage their hospitals,” says Brock Slabach, NRHA chief operations officer. “We’re pleased to recognize the accomplishments of these rural hospitals.”

The list of winners and best practice recipients, in alphabetical order and by category, can be found in NRHA's press release and on our Top 20 CAHs page.