Prairie Lakes Healthcare System Named Top 100 Hospital

WATERTOWN, S.D. – February 12, 2019 – Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) was recently named one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Regarded as one of the industry’s most significant designations of performance excellence, the annual Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals award is based upon the results of the Hospital Strength INDEX® from iVantage Health Analytics.This is the fourth year PLHS received this prestigious honor.

PLHS scored in the top 100 of rural and community hospitals on iVantage Health Analytics’ Hospital Strength INDEX®. The INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive rating of rural providers. Hospitals recognized as a Top 100 facility scored in the top 100 among all rural and community hospitals nationally.

“In an era of increased complexity and uncertainty, Top 100 hospitals have established themselves as a bellwether for rural provider performance,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader of The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “Top 100 status is a real indicator of how proactive these hospitals are when it comes to pushing for performance improvement in areas such as quality, outcomes, patient safety, market share and finance.”

Now in its ninth year, the INDEX leverages 50 rural-relevant indicators across eight pillars of hospital strength (i.e. Inpatient Market Share, Outpatient Market Chare, Cost, Charge, Quality, Outcomes, Patient Perspective and Financial Stability) to determine an overall score for each hospital. Each of the INDEX’s 50 indicators is culled from publicly-available data sources. 

“This honor represents the dedication and quality of work of our board, medical staff, and employees,” said K.C. DeBoer, PLHS President & CEO. “It is very gratifying for PLHS to receive the designation of a Top 100 hospital for the fourth consecutive year; it is a testament of our unwavering support to the health of our patients, community, and the region we serve.”

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Enclosed: Top 100 logo, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System logo, and photo of Prairie Lakes Hospital.

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) serves a ten county region in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. PLHS provides care at its hospital in Watertown as well as specialty services that are uncommon in similar rural settings. The enhancement of services to meet the needs of the region is a continuing focus of PLHS. PLHS has seen growth despite a challenging healthcare environment nationwide.

Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital Resources:

The list of this year’s Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals, as well as the 2019 INDEX methodology, can be found at www.ivantageindex.com/top-performing-hospitals.

To learn more about The Chartis Center for Rural Health or to speak with someone regarding the INDEX and the 2019 Top 100, please email Billy Balfour at wbalfour@ivantagehealth.com.