Northwestern Medical Center was recently named one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States by iVantage Health Analytics and The Chartis Center for Rural Health.

“This achievement is very gratifying and validates our daily commitment to providing the best health care possible to our community, while maintaining an efficient and effective facility,” said Jill Berry Bowen, NMC’s CEO.

NMC scored in the top 100 of rural and community hospitals on iVantage Health Analytics’ Hospital Strength INDEX®. The INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive rating of rural providers. It provides the data foundation for the annual Rural Relevance Study and its results are the basis for many of rural healthcare’s most prominent awards, advocacy efforts and legislative initiatives. The list of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals and more information about the study can be found at www.iVantageINDEX.com.

The Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals play a key role in providing a safety net to communities across America – and the INDEX measures them across eight pillars of hospital strength: Inpatient Share Ranking, Outpatient Share Ranking, Cost, Charge, Quality, Outcomes, Patient Perspectives, and Financial Stability.

“It’s more important than ever that rural hospitals proactively understand and address performance in the areas of cost, quality, outcomes and patient perspective. iVantage’s INDEX was designed to serve as this industry model,” said Michael Topchik, national leader of the Chartis Center for Rural Health. “Across the spectrum of performance indicators, there are rural providers that are writing the blueprint for success as they transition to value-based healthcare. Our analysis shows that this group of top performers exhibits a focused concern for their community needs.”

The Chartis Group (Chartis) is a national advisory services firm dedicated to the healthcare industry. Chartis provides strategic planning, value-based care, advanced performance, informatics and technology consulting services as well as leading-edge decision support tools to the country’s leading healthcare providers. iVantage Health Analytics is a subsidiary of The Chartis Group and a leading provider of healthcare analytic and performance management analytic tools.