Phelps Memorial Health Center in Holdrege has been honored as one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the United States, a distinction that reflects the hospital’s unwavering commitment to exceptional quality, compassionate care, community service, and rural health excellence.
This prestigious recognition, awarded by the National Rural Health Association and scored by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, is based on overall performance in eight critical areas: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance. The Top 20 were selected from the Chartis 2025 Top 100 CAH list, which was released earlier this year.
“This recognition is a reflection of the dedication and compassion our team brings to every patient interaction,” said Mark Harrel, CEO of Phelps Memorial. “It affirms that our mission to always provide exceptional quality and compassionate care to our community is not only felt locally—but is also seen at a national level. Our team doesn’t do this work for accolades, but for the families who count on us every day.”
The Top 20 CAHs are recognized in two key categories:
• Quality Index – evaluating hospitals on performance across rural-relevant clinical care measures.
• Patient Perspective Index – assessing patient experience across all 10 domains of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS).
There are approximately 1,300 CAHs in the United States, putting Phelps Memorial in the top 1.5 percent of all critical access hospitals in the entire country. Phelps Memorial’s performance in these areas illustrates the organization’s commitment to be the best place for patients to receive care, providers to practice, and teammates to work.
Kyle Anderson, President of the Phelps Memorial Board of Directors, shared, “This recognition affirms what we’ve long known—Phelps Memorial sets a high standard for excellence in rural healthcare. On behalf of the Board, I want to express our deep appreciation and pride in Team Phelps for their unwavering dedication to our mission and for making a meaningful impact on the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve.”
