Brookings Health Ranks First in Nation & Charts Top 20 Rural Community Hospital List Again

Brookings Health System was again named a Top 20 Rural Community Hospital in the United States by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). The health system ranked 100 percent on the winter 2026 Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, the tool used to recognize the Top 20, making it the top scoring hospital among peer rural and community hospitals across the nation.

“This is our ninth Top 20 recognition since the award was established in 2016. Our performance continues to reflect the incredible people who make Brookings Health System what it is,” said President and CEO Jason Merkley. “Their talent, dedication and compassion drives our success, putting Brookings Health System first in the nation among all rural and community hospitals. Their work ensures that our regional patients receive the highest standard of care every day.”

The health system will be recognized at an awards ceremony during NRHA’s Rural Hospital Innovation Summit on May 21 in San Diego. 

The NRHA honors the 20 highest-ranked PPS hospitals in the country based on an evaluation by the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®. The INDEX is based entirely on publicly available data sets and is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural provider performance. It benchmarks rural and community hospitals on eight pillars of performance: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and financial efficiency. More information about the Top 20 list can be found on ruralhealth.us. 

Brookings Health was also recently named to Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals as well as a Top 100 Rural and Community Hospital. More information about Brookings Health System’s high quality of care can be found at brookingshealth.org/quality.