Westfields celebrates a hat trick as a Top 20 critical access hospital

Only six others in the history of the awards have won the honor three years straight

New Richmond, Wis. – For the third year in a row, Westfields Hospital & Clinic has been named one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the U.S.

The 20 highest-ranked critical access hospitals (CAHs) in the country, as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, were announced by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) last week. An awards ceremony will be held during NRHA’s Critical Access Hospital Conference in September in Kansas City, Mo.

“I’m so proud to work alongside such a talented team of individuals who make a difference every day in the lives of the people of New Richmond and the surrounding communities,” said Eric Ling, MD, vice president of medical affairs for Westfields Hospital & Clinic. “Part of what makes this team so successful is that everyone on campus feels like a big family, and whether they’re on the front line or in a support role, everyone sees it as their personal responsibility to put patients first in everything we do. The empathy and commitment to our patients and each other never fails to amaze me.”

The determining factors for the Top 20 CAHs were based on the results of the Hospital Strength Index and its eight indices of performance: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and financial efficiency. This elite group of hospitals was selected from the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2021 top 100 CAH list, which was released earlier this year.

“One of the pleasures of my role is getting to see what people say after they’ve received care from us,” said Steve Massey, president, Westfields Hospital & Clinic. “Phrases like ‘excellent care,’ ‘compassionate care,’ ‘wonderful care teams,’ ‘caring and concerned,’ ‘I would absolutely recommend Westfields,’ ‘caring and professional,’ appear regularly in the feedback from patients. While it’s very appreciated to receive this type of Top 20 recognition, it’s even more important for us to know that the people who seek us out for care in their times of need are getting exceptional care with compassion.”