Houlton Regional Hospital Gets High Marks in New Report

One Aroostook County hospital recently received high marks among top rural hospitals across the country.

Houlton Regional Hospital was one of nine hospitals in the state of Maine to make the Leapfrog Group’s 2013 Top Rural Hospitals list  that was released this week. More than 200 rural hospitals nationwide were part of the survey.

The Top Hospitals designation recognizes hospitals that prevent medical errors, reduce mortality for high-risk procedures like heart bypass surgery, and reduce hospital re-admissions.

Five Maine hospitals made the Top Rural Hospital list last year, and in 2011, only one Maine hospital made the list. Not all rural hospitals in the state qualify for consideration because of the vagaries of federal designation of what is considered a rural area.

The other Maine hospitals making the list are Blue Hill Memorial Hospital; Calais Regional Hospital; Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital, Greenville; Down East Community Hospital, Machias; Inland Hospital, Waterville; LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus, Damariscotta; Sebasticook Valley Health, Pittsfield; and Stephens Memorial Hospital, Norway.