(Excerpt from “100 Critical access hospitals to know- 2026” article in Becker’s Hospital Review. Written by Anna Falvey.)

Critical access hospitals occupy a singular place in the American healthcare system. With a maximum of 25 inpatient beds and a mandate to provide around-the-clock emergency care, these institutions do far more with far less than almost any other type of healthcare organization. 

The hospitals featured on this list are actively expanding access to specialty care, reducing the burden of patient travel, and driving meaningful improvements in the health of their communities. 

To help identify these institutions, the editorial team referenced rankings and recognitions from some of the most respected voices in rural health, including the National Rural Health Association and the Chartis Center for Rural Health…

… Effingham Health System (Springfield, Ga.). Effingham Health System is an independent 25-bed critical access hospital that annually treats more than 23,000 patients in its emergency department, as well as more than 25,000 patients across its primary and specialty care clinics. The hospital also performs more than 2,400 surgical procedures, operating with a staff of over 500 team members. The health system includes three rural health clinics, specialty clinics covering pediatrics, cardiology, occupational medicine and women’s health, two primary care clinics and a 105-bed skilled nursing facility, which earned a 2025 CMS 5-star rating and was named to Newsweek’s “America’s Best Nursing Homes” list for 2026. Effingham Health System is the first critical access hospital in Georgia to implement a da Vinci robotic surgical system, having performed more than 1,500 robotic procedures since August 2018, and recently introduced the Oracle Health clinical AI agent, which has assisted providers in completing more than 5,000 patient notes since implementation in July 2025. The hospital’s pediatric center, opened in 2023, has averaged more than 700 patients per month. Meanwhile, the school-based telemedicine program, launched in 2017, has expanded to all elementary, middle and high schools in Effingham County and has reduced student and teacher absenteeism. A groundbreaking ceremony has been held for a new 33-acre medical campus on the southern end of Effingham County, positioned to expand healthcare access in an area of major population growth.

Note: Becker’s Healthcare developed this list based on nominations and editorial research. Organizations do not pay and cannot pay for inclusion on this list. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it an endorsement of the organizations mentioned. We extend a special thank you to Rhoda Weiss for her contributions to this list. Organizations are presented in alphabetical order.