Nocona General Hospital Earns Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital
Award from The Chartis Center for Rural Health
Nocona General Hospital is proud to announce that it has been recognized as a 2024 Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Chartis’ annual Top 100 award program recognizes outstanding performance among the nation’s rural hospitals based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®.
NGH was also recognized by The Chartis Center last fall with a 2023 Performance Leadership Award for Excellence in two categories: Quality and Patient Perspective. This award honors top quartile performance (i.e. 75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in Quality, Outcomes and/or Patient Perspective.
Now in its 14th year, the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Featuring a methodology utilizing publicly available data, the INDEX is leveraged nationwide by rural hospitals, health systems with rural affiliates, hospital associations, and state offices of rural health to measure and monitor performance across a variety of areas impacting hospital operations and finance.
“During an era of profound uncertainty for rural healthcare, the Top 100 rural hospitals continue to provide a unique lens through which we can identify innovation and inspiration for how to deliver high quality care to increasingly vulnerable populations,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “We’re delighted to be able to recognize all this year’s Top 100 but especially the more than 40 first-time recipients across both categories. It’s wonderful to see so many new facilities join the ranks of our Top 100 alumni.”
In an article published by Fox News on February 18, 2024, officials from Chartis stated that “hundreds of hospitals in rural areas of the U.S. are at risk of closure.” The reasons for this vary; however, skyrocketing operating costs and shrinking reimbursement amounts are the chief concern. NGH CEO Lance Meekins proudly stated that Nocona General Hospital is in a sound financial position. “The NGH Board of Directors has cautiously and conservatively managed the finances of our hospital. Because of their many years of good stewardship, and the tremendous support from our physicians, NGH is financially strong.” Meekins also stated, however, that this was in large part due to the hospital’s participation in various supplemental payment programs over the last 20 years.
Next month Nocona General Hospital will be celebrating fifty years of quality healthcare service to Nocona and the surrounding area. What began in 1967 as a dream of a “modern, well-equipped hospital” by community leaders, came to fruition in March 1974 when NGH opened the doors of a beautiful new facility. Over the past fifty years, NGH has expanded and remodeled to keep up with the changing needs of healthcare and the community it serves. In the spirit of preparing for the future, NGH is currently accepting bids for the expansion and remodel of the Nocona clinic and update of the north end of the existing facility, including a significant remodel the emergency department. Meekins stated “Should the Board of Directors choose to move forward with this project, it will be 100% paid for because of the many years of their good financial administration, and we are both extremely fortunate and extremely grateful to be able to say that.”