Two WVU Medicine hospitals named Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals by The Chartis Center for Rural Health

April 7, 2026

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Medicine’s Braxton County Memorial Hospital in Gassaway and Grant Memorial Hospital in Petersburg have been recognized 2026 Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals by The Chartis Center for Rural Health.  

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®.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services define critical access hospitals as those that meet several criteria, including but not limited to:

  • Must be in a rural area or an area that is treated as rural
  • Located more than 35 miles from the nearest hospital or critical access hospital or more than 15 miles in areas with mountainous terrain or only secondary roads
  • Maintain no more than 25 inpatient beds that can be used for either inpatient or swing-bed services
  • Furnish 24-hour emergency care services seven days a week 

Established in 1981, Braxton County Memorial Hospital is a non-profit, critical access hospital that serves Braxton County, as well as parts of Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, and Webster counties. It joined the WVU Health System in 2019. 

Grant Memorial Hospital originally opened in 1958 and became a non-profit hospital and part of the WVU Health System in 2023. This critical access facility serves Grant, Hardy, and Pendleton counties, as well as neighboring counties in the Potomac Highlands region of West Virginia. This is the second consecutive year Grant Memorial has been on the Chartis Top 100 list. 

“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,” Michael Topchik, executive director of The Chartis Center for Rural Health, said. “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. 

For more information on Braxton County Memorial Hospital, visit WVUMedicine.org/Braxton. For more information on Grant Memorial Hospital, visit WVUMedicine.org/Grant.

For media inquiries: Angela S. Jones, WVU Health System Assistant Vice President of Media and Marketing Communications - [email protected]