Spencer Hospital Named One of the Nation's Top Community Hospitals for Fifth Consecutive Year

posted on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 in General

Spencer Hospital has again been recognized as one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States, earning the designation for the fifth consecutive year.  As such, Spencer Hospital is the only mid-sized Iowa hospital - to have earned this distinction every year it has been awarded.

The nation’s top rural hospitals are recognized annually by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, which also recognizes the country’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals. Regarded as one of the industry’s most significant designations of performance excellence for mid-sized hospitals, the annual Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals award is based upon the results of the Hospital Strength INDEX® developed by iVantage Health Analytics.

“Our medical staff, healthcare team, and leaders are committed to providing exceptional care to those we serve,” said Bill Bumgarner, Spencer Hospital president. “It’s especially rewarding that this distinction is based on a wide range of performance metrics, which demonstrate excellence in both patient care and business outcomes.  Also, by achieving this designation for five consecutive years, it speaks to the consistency of effort and performance by a skilled healthcare team.” 

In addition to its standing in Iowa, Spencer Hospital is one of just 25 mid-sized hospitals nationally – out of about 900 – that is a five-time Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital honoree.   

“This recognition is a reflection of the quality of the entire Spencer medical community,” said Steve Lensing, Spencer Hospital board chair. “Good people are working together each day to offer the best in care and services to our region.”

iVantage identifies top performing hospitals by aggregating hospital-specific data for over 50 service and outcome variables across eight pillars of performance, resulting in an overall hospital strength index. The majority of data used in the study is derived from public sources.  Areas in which top hospitals particularly distinguish themselves include quality and outcomes; patient satisfaction; costs and charges; market share; and financial stability.

“The Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital award program reminds us that rural providers haven’t lost touch with their mission and are committed to delivering better quality, better outcomes and better patient satisfaction,” said Michael Topchik, the National Leader of The Chartis Center for Rural Health.  “It’s a pleasure to be able to not only recognize this year’s recipients, but our larger group of top 100 alumni.”