Mercy Hospital Kingfisher celebrated National Rural Health Day on Thursday as one of the best in the country at providing rural care.

The Chartis Center for Rural Health named Mercy Hospital Kingfisher to its 2024 Performance Leadership Award list, recognizing it as among the top 25% of rural hospitals across America because of high scores in quality, outcomes and patient perspective.

“We’re proud to be a top-notch multidisciplinary hospital, where everyone can count on the highest- quality care at a low cost in their own community,” said hospital administrator Bobby Stitt. “Everyone you see working at our facilities is one of your neighbors. We’re all dedicated to providing compassionate care around the clock all year long.”

The award is based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, a comprehensive and objective framework for assessing rural hospital performance.

The benchmarks are used by rural health organizations to measure performance across multiple areas affecting operations and finance.

“The Performance Leadership awards capture the commitment, diligence and innovation with which America’s rural hospitals approach the delivery of care within their communities,” said Troy Brown, a Chartis network consultant.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be able to recognize the efforts of this year’s award winners and celebrate their achievement as part of National Rural Health Day.”

National Rural Health Day National Rural Health Day is organized by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, a membership association of state offices of health.

Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences operates the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health.

Every November is an opportunity to focus on the work at places like Mercy Hospital Kingfisher to provide comprehensive health care services outside of urban areas, said Stitt.

Rural hospitals are often the only source of emergency or inpatient care for local residents.