DEL NORTE – As part of National Rural Health Day, Rio Grande Hospital recently announced it had earned a 2024 Performance Leadership Award for excellence in quality and patient perspective. 

Compiled by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Awards recognize top-quartile performance (75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in Quality, Outcomes, and or Patient Perspective. "This is an honor. Many staff members are working behind the scenes on various aspects of a patient’s care, and the hard work shows in these awards," said Eva Timberlake, Development and Communication Officer at Rio Grande Hospital. 

The Performance Leadership Awards are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, a comprehensive and objective framework for assessing rural hospitals' performance. INDEX benchmarks are relied upon by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations, and state offices of rural health to measure performance across multiple areas impacting hospital operations and finance. 

"The Performance Leadership Awards capture the commitment, diligence, and innovation with which America's rural hospitals approach the delivery of care within their communities," said Troy Brown, Network Consultant at The Chartis Center for Rural Health. "It's a tremendous honor to be able to recognize the efforts of this year's award winners and celebrate their achievement as part of National Rural Health Day." 

Rio Grande Hospital is a Critical Access Hospital that has been open since 2006 and has accomplished much. The hospital's work helps many in the community and tourists. It grows its services yearly and has recently started working on preventative care with its new Wellness Center. 

For more information about Rio Grande Hospital and its services, visit its website at RioGrandeHospital.org.