Hillsdale Hospital ranks among the country’s top 100 rural hospitals, according to a new report.
The Chartis Center for Rural Health assessed hospitals on the quality and efficiency of care as well as the quantity of local patients treated. It released the results on Feb. 11.
Hillsdale Hospital President and CEO JJ Hodshire attributed their success to the vision and teamwork of Hillsdale Hospital staff.
“Our organization’s vision is that through strong local governance, we will lead the nation in defining and advancing the role of rural health providers,” Hodshire said in a press release. “This recognition demonstrates our commitment and progress toward realizing that vision, all thanks to the work of our incredible team.”
Michael Topchik, national leader of the Chartis Center for Rural Health, praised the perseverance of rural hospitals across the United States for their diligence during the COVID-19 pandemic in a press release distributed by Hillsdale Hospital.
“Despite unprecedented adversity, rural providers continue to display resiliency and a steadfast commitment to their communities,” Topchik said in the statement. “Honoring the Top 100 is one of the highpoints of our year. We are delighted to recognize the exceptional performance and innovation of this year’s recipients, particularly in light of the extraordinary challenges facing America’s rural health safety net.”
The Chartis Center is an organization that supports rural hospitals by providing information and educational materials. They are well known for their annual evaluations of rural hospitals.
According to the American Hospital Association, there are 1,805 rural hospitals in the United States, placing Hillsdale Hospital in the top 6% of rural hospitals nationwide.
Hillsdale Hospital’s director of marketing and development, Rachel Lott, said the hospital has continued to grow and expand its care in a time when many rural hospitals are closing their doors.
“A lot of rural hospitals have had to close things like their obstetrics unit, their birthing centers, and their behavioral health units,” Lott said. “Hillsdale Hospital has been investing in those areas; we have a behavioral health unit, and we built a brand-new birthing center in 2015.”
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hillsdale Hospital focused on continually improving its technologies and services to help better serve the local community. In 2020, it became the first public hospital in Michigan to install a new MRI technology that produces higher quality images and is more comfortable for patients. The hospital was also one of the first six hospitals in the nation to offer a new laser technology for kidney stone treatment, according to the hospital’s press release.
These improvements helped secure not only the health and wellbeing of Hillsdale residents, but also the financial stability of the hospital. Lott described how many rural hospitals close because necessary services are too expensive to maintain. Hillsdale Hospital’s technological improvements help to counteract that problem, making care more efficient.
“This community and this team is not limited by the fact that they are rural,” Lott said. “We don’t see that as any sort of barrier to our ability to provide excellent care; we don’t let that limit our vision of what’s possible for our community.”
Lott described this award as motivation for Hillsdale Hospital to continue improving and providing the highest quality of care possible to the community.
“Hillsdale Hospital has been caring for this community for 106 years and will continue to do so for the next 106 years and beyond,” Hodshire said.
