Speare Memorial Hospital kicked off its Hospital Week festivities by celebrating being named among the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals nationwide on iVantage Health Analytics 2014 Top 100 list.  Additionally, Speare is ranked as a HealthStrong™ Hospital for 2014, a designation given to 547 of the 4,299 acute care hospitals in the United States.

“We are proud of the efforts of our physicians, nurses, clinical and administrative staff who have contributed to our hospital achieving these national designations,” says Speare Memorial Hospital’s President and CEO Michelle McEwen, FACHE.  “We place a tremendous emphasis on quality, performance and patient satisfaction, and this honor demonstrates our efforts are making a difference not only for our hospital, but for the local central New Hampshire communities we serve.”

Speare a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital in the United States

This is the third consecutive year Speare has been named a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital nationally, scoring a 99 on iVantage Analytics Health Strength Index™ measuring 66 different publicly reported performance metrics including quality, outcomes, patient perspectives, affordability, population risk and efficiency.

John Morrow, executive vice president of  iVantage Health Analytics, notes, “The services provided in rural America are similar to those needed in any major metropolitan area, yet the volumes and economic resources provide little economies of scale.  These top Critical Access Hospital exhibit a focus concern for their community benefits and needs, regardless of scale, reimbursement and people’s ability to pay.”

Also Named a 2014 HealthStrong™ Hospital

Speare’s ranking also earned the hospital the designation of a 2014 HealthStrong™ Hospital.  Based on the same 66 publicly reported metrics that make up the Health Strength Index™, healthcare’s most comprehensive rating system of hospitals, Speare’s rank placed it among the top 547 acute care hospitals.  “The Hospital Strength Index analysis reveals that geographic variation, population health and superior performance are interrelated, and that they can result in lower cost, better outcomes and healthier communities,” says Morrow. More information about the Index can be found at www.ivantagehealth.com

Speare Memorial Hospital is a 24-hour, acute care, non-profit community hospital and health care provider serving Plymouth and the communities of central New Hampshire. Visit online at www.speare2020.wpengine.com and join us on Facebook and Twitter.