Van Diest Medical Center has been recognized as a 2025 Top 100 Critical Access Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Chartis’ annual Top 100 award program recognizes outstanding performance among the nation’s rural hospitals based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX.

“The Top 100 Award is a tremendous honor, and we are extremely proud to be recognized for the third year in a row as one of the rural hospitals from across the country that demonstrates a commitment to excellence and innovation,” said Lisa Ridge, Chief Executive Officer of Van Diest Medical Center. “We applaud our entire team of caregivers for their hard work and dedication in achieving this recognition.”

“The Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals award program elevates the very best performers and helps create a roadmap for those seeking to improve financial and operational performance while continuing to care for the communities they serve,” said Michael Topchik, Executive Director, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “This is our 15th year recognizing the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals and we’re thrilled to be able to celebrate this milestone with this year’s winners.”

VDMC is one of only 11 hospitals in the state of Iowa to achieve this designation.  Nationwide, there are 1,371 critical access hospitals. The complete list of 2025 Top 100 award winners can be found here.

Now in its 15th year, the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Featuring a methodology utilizing publicly available data, the INDEX is leveraged 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 and finance.