Cox Barton County Hospital Earns Top 100 Critical Access Hospital Award

Cox Barton County Hospital announced today it has been recognized as a 2024 Top 100 Critical Access Hospital (CAH) 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®.

Only two rural hospitals in Missouri, including Cox Barton, have earned this top honor.

"We are honored to have made this year’s Top 100 for the first time, which is a direct result of our incredible team and the exceptional, compassionate care they deliver to our patients,” said Chris Wyatt, president of Cox Barton County Hospital. “This achievement is unique among all of the awards we have received for quality outcomes and patient experience over the last year because it focuses on a combination of assessments rather than just one performance area.”

To determine the 2024 list, Chartis used the Chartis Rural Hospital Strength INDEX, which assesses performance in inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, 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 are delighted to be able to recognize all this year’s Top 100 but especially the more than 40 first-time recipients. It is wonderful to see so many new facilities join the ranks of our Top 100 alumni.”

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.

Click here to see a list of the 2024 Top 100 critical access hospitals in the U.S., listed by state.