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Quick Facts:
Fort Smith
Out of nearly 1,400 critical access hospitals across America, Waldron residents get their care from one of the very best.
The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) named Mercy Hospital Waldron to its annual list of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals for Best Practice in Quality. The list ranks hospitals using the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, which compiles public data sets linked to quality, patient perspectives and more.
“We’re incredibly proud to be named a Top 20 hospital for quality,” said Kim Russell, director of nursing and administrator at Mercy Hospital Waldron. “This recognition really belongs to our amazing caregivers and physicians who show up every day focused on doing what’s right for our patients. The care they provide to our community is truly something special.”
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. In contrast, a community hospital provides a broad range of general medical services to the local population.
Rural hospitals deliver essential, often lifesaving care to communities that would otherwise face long travel times, limited access to specialists and significant health disparities.
Waldron is one of three Mercy hospitals on the list, joining Oklahoma’s Mercy Hospital Logan County and Mercy Hospital Tishomingo.
Hospitals on NHRA’s top 20 list for quality scored highly across process-of-care measures relevant to rural settings.
“NRHA is committed to ensuring our members have the best information to manage their hospitals,” said Brock Slabach, NRHA chief operations officer. “We’re pleased to recognize the accomplishments of these rural hospitals.”
Mercy Hospital Waldron is an award-winning 24-bed hospital affiliated with Mercy Hospital Fort Smith. It offers swing beds, therapy, imaging, emergency care and other critical services to local patients. Read more about it on the Mercy Hospital Waldron website on mercy.net.
