Mercy Hospital Washington along with five of Mercy’s other rural hospitals, including three in Oklahoma and two in Arkansas, have been included in The Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2026 lists of the 100 top performing rural hospitals across the country.
Rural hospitals deliver essential, often lifesaving care to communities that would otherwise face long travel times, limited access to specialists and significant health disparities.
Chartis named Mercy Hospital Washington and Mercy Hospital Ardmore in Oklahoma to its Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals list, a first for Mercy Washington.
The Mercy hospitals named to this year’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals include Mercy Hospital Berryville and Mercy Hospital Paris in Arkansas and Mercy Hospital Kingfisher and Mercy Hospital Watonga in Oklahoma. This year’s award winners in each category can be found here.
A community hospital provides a broad range of general medical services to the local population, while a critical access hospital is a small rural facility designated by Medicare to improve access to care, capped at 25 inpatient beds and required to maintain 24/7 emergency services. Each hospital on Chartis’ Top 100 lists has demonstrated consistently strong patient outcomes, high operational efficiency and resilience in the face of unique geographic and economic challenges.
“For rural communities, having a strong hospital nearby isn’t just a convenience – it’s essential,” said Marie Moore, Mercy Washington and Lincoln Communities president. Families rely on us for urgent emergencies, preventive care and everything in between. Being recognized among the nation’s Top 100 affirms that patients can stay right here in our community to receive excellent care. Our team is committed to providing that high‑quality, close‑to‑home care every single day, and this honor reflects their remarkable dedication.”
“The delivery of care within rural communities is more complex today than at any point in recent memory,” said Michael Topchik, executive director of The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “This year’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals and Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals have emerged as true leaders who are committed to their mission through a powerful combination of resilience, dedication and innovation. We’re delighted to recognize this year’s winners and celebrate their Top 100 status.”
The Chartis awards are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®, which recognizes outstanding performance among the nation’s rural hospitals. Now in its 16th year, the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Leveraging a methodology that utilizes publicly available data, the INDEX is used nationwide by rural hospitals, health systems with rural affiliates, hospital associations, and state offices of rural health to measure and monitor performance across a variety of areas impacting hospital operations, quality, patient perspective and finance.
