Community Hospital-Fairfax (CH-F) announced February 23, 2026, it has been recognized as a 2026 Top 100 Critical Access Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health for the second year. The Top 100 awards program celebrates outstanding performance annually among the nation’s rural hospitals based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®.
“We know how fortunate we are to serve this community, who trusts us with their care and supports the work that we do. This hospital belongs to the people we serve who deserve timely, effective, and compassionate care. It is our honor to be able to provide it,” said Ann Schlueter, CEO of Community Hospital-Fairfax.
“The delivery of care within rural communities is perhaps more complex today than at any point in recent memory. This year’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals have emerged as true leaders – committed to their mission through a powerful combination of resilience, dedication and innovation,” said Michael Topchik, Executive Director of The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “We’re delighted to recognize this year’s winners and celebrate their Top 100 status.”
Now in its 16th year, the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Leveraging publicly available data, the INDEX is utilized 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, quality, patient perspective and finance.
In addition to being named a Chartis Top 100 Critical Access Hospital, CH-F also received two Chartis Performance Leadership Awards in the categories of Quality and Patient Perspective. Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Awards program recognizes top quartile performance (i.e., 75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in Quality, Outcomes, and/or Patient Perspective.
“The areas of quality, outcomes, and patient perspective are cornerstones of healthcare delivery across rural America, and this year’s Performance Leadership Award recipients are establishing a standard of excellence for their rural peers to follow,” Topchik said. “We are delighted to shine a spotlight on such strong performance and honor the achievement of these hospitals.”
