JACKSON, Calif. – Sutter Amador Hospital in Jackson is again recognized as the top rural hospital in California, being named this week as a 2025 Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Out of the 60-plus rural hospitals in California, Sutter Amador is the only hospital honored as one of the nation’s best.
The 52-bed community-based, not-for-profit Sutter Amador Hospital serves a population of more than 40,000 in California’s Gold Country. It is the fifth year in a row that Sutter Amador has been named to The Chartis Center’s prestigious list.
“The Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals award program elevates the very best performers and helps create a roadmap for those seeking to improve financial and operational performance while continuing to care for the communities they serve,” said Michael Topchik, executive director of The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “During an era of profound uncertainty for rural healthcare, the Top 100 rural hospitals continue to provide a unique lens through which we can identify innovation and inspiration for how to deliver high quality care to increasingly vulnerable populations.”
Unlike many rural hospitals in California, Sutter Amador continues to add services for residents throughout the region. In recent years, it opened an infusion center, launched a Rural Residency Program to bring more physicians to the area, opened new Sutter Medical Foundation physician offices on the hospital campus, and partnered with Innovative Renal Care to bring dialysis services to the community.
Some of this was made possible due to the community, which has donated millions of dollars to assist the non-for-profit Sutter Heath system to bring needed services to residents and purchase updated medical equipment for the hospital.
“We are pleased to be named again by Chartis as one of the best rural hospitals in the nation,” said Michael Cureton, CEO of Sutter Amador Hospital. “We were recognized for the fifth year because we are continually looking to improve our service to the community. We thank our many community partners for assisting us in our goal to provide quality healthcare for all residents in Amador County and beyond. This indication of high quality is carried out by amazing employees and physicians who continue to prioritize patient care and promote a positive patient experience.”
Chartis’ annual Top 100 award program recognizes outstanding performance among the nation’s rural hospitals based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance Index. Now in its 15th year, the Index is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Featuring a methodology utilizing publicly available data, the Index is leveraged 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 and finance.
Sutter Amador provides comprehensive services, including 24-hour emergency care, critical and intensive care, diagnostic imaging, a family birth center, surgery, orthopedics, an infusion center and laboratory services. However, there are some advanced services that are only available at larger medical centers, and Sutter Amador’s alignment with specialty services at Sutter facilities in Sacramento, Modesto and throughout Northern California give patients access to the advanced care they may need.
“Sutter Amador Hospital is fortunate to be a part of an integrated health system that allows us to draw from resources outside the county,” said Cureton. “But our local hospital remains independent and flexible enough to have a culture that is unique to Amador County. That’s what helps make it one of the nation’s best.”
