Five North Dakota Hospitals Named Among Top 20 in Nation
May 12, 2026
Five Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in North Dakota have been named to the Top 20 CAHs for 2026 and will receive the awards during a ceremony at the National Rural Health Association's CAH Conference in September in Kansas City, Missouri. Four CAHs were named in the overall category and one CAH was named in the best practice in quality recipients.
The determining factors for the Top 20 CAHs were 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.
"We are proud to see so many North Dakota CAHs selected in the Top 20, including in Quality," said Jody Ward, grant program director of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program and the North Dakota CAH Quality Network. "The hospitals in our state pride themselves on patient care, quality, innovation, and keeping costs low, and this proves we are providing excellent care."
Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals
- CHI Mercy Health of Valley City
- CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington
- Pembina County Memorial Hospital in Cavalier
- South Central Health in Wishek
Twenty best practice designations were also given to facilities that achieved success in quality: a rating of hospital performance based on the percentile rank across rural-relevant process of care measures.
Best Practice Recipients – Quality
Jacob Warren, director of CRH, emphasized the importance of rural health throughout North Dakota. "Particularly for our state, rural hospitals are the heartbeat of our communities, and the high level of care they provide will continue to improve the health of our citizens."
CAH Quality Network
All of the designated hospitals belong to the North Dakota CAH Quality Network, at the Center for Rural Health housed within the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. The Network serves as a common place for the state's 36 CAHs to share best practices, tools, and resources related to providing quality of care. The Network supports the quality improvement activities of its members and assists them with the Medicare Conditions of Participation.