Beaver County Memorial Hospital, which is managed by SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital, has been honored with a 2026 Top 20 Best Practices in Quality designation from the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health. This puts BCMH in the Top 20 for quality among all critical access hospitals in the U.S.
“We are incredibly honored to be recognized among the top-performing critical access hospitals in the nation,” said Alissa Schlessman, CEO of Beaver County Memorial Hospital. “This designation is a testament to the dedication, compassion and excellence of our BCMH team, as well as the continued trust and support of the community we proudly serve. We are grateful to NRHA and the Chartis Center for Rural Health for recognizing the vital role rural hospitals play in delivering high-quality care close to home.”
The elite group of hospitals was selected from the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2026 top 100 Critical Access Hospital list, which was released earlier this year. From that list, the top 20 critical access hospitals were chosen, based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX and its eight indices of performance: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge and finance.
Twenty best practice designations, including BCMH, were given to facilities that achieved success in the key area of quality, and another 20 designations were awarded for achieving success in patient perspective.
“NRHA is committed to ensuring our members have the best information to manage their hospitals,” says Brock Slabach, NRHA chief operations officer. “We’re pleased to recognize the accomplishments of these rural hospitals.”
BCMH will be recognized in September at NRHA’s Critical Access Hospital Conference in Kansas City, Mo.
About SSM Health in Oklahoma
SSM Health in Oklahoma includes St. Anthony Hospital (Oklahoma City); Bone & Joint Hospital at St. Anthony (Oklahoma City); SSM Health Outpatient Center (Oklahoma City), St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee (Shawnee, Okla.), St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee, Seminole Campus and St. Anthony Hospital - Midwest (Midwest City, Okla.). The SSM Health network in Oklahoma also includes five SSM Health St. Anthony Healthplex campuses, 19 affiliated hospitals and SSM Health Meical Group with more than 350 physicians and providers.
About NRHA
NRHA is a nonprofit organization working to improve the health and wellbeing of rural Americans and provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education, and research. NRHA’s membership is made up of unique individuals and organizations from across the country, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.
About Chartis
Chartis is a comprehensive health care advisory firm dedicated to helping clients build a healthier world. Chartis works across the health care continuum with more than 600 clients annually, including providers, payers, health services organizations, technology and retail companies, and investors. Through times of change, challenge, and opportunity, Chartis advises the industry on how to navigate disruption, pursue growth, achieve financial sustainability, unleash technology, improve care models and operations, enhance clinical quality and safety, and advance health equity. The teams convened bring deep industry expertise and industry leading innovation, enabling clients to achieve transformational results and create positive societal impact. For more information, visit www.chartis.com.
