Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center again named top 100 rural hospital  

Essentia Health is proud to announce that St. Joseph’s Medical Center once again has been nationally recognized as a top 100 rural hospital in the country.  

The recognition comes from the Chartis Center for Rural Health, an organization committed to helping rural hospitals improve care delivery. This is the second consecutive year St. Joseph’s has earned the distinction. 

“This affirms what we already know – we deliver the most outstanding health care in this region,” said Todd Defreece, Essentia’s senior vice president of operations for the Brainerd Lakes area. “We’re proud of this designation because it shows how committed we are to delivering the best possible patient care to the communities we are privileged to serve.” 

St. Joseph’s is one of six hospitals in the state to receive a top 100 designation. Overall, there are about 2,200 hospitals nationwide that Chartis considers to be rural. 

“We are demonstrating that patients can receive top-notch care right here in their own communities without having to travel long distances,” said Defreece. “We are completely dedicated to their health and finding positive outcomes so they can live their healthiest lives.”  

This annual program is based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, a comprehensive and data-driven assessment of rural hospital performance. Chartis measures performance in eight areas to rank hospitals — quality; outcomes; patient perspective; cost; charge; inpatient market share; outpatient market share; and financial efficiency.