Orange City Area Health System was recently named one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the United States by iVantage Health Analytics and The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “This achievement is very gratifying and validates our daily commitment to providing the best health care possible to the area we serve, while maintaining an efficient and effective facility,” said Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System. “It is so easy in today’s world to get lost and frustrated in what tomorrow might bring. This recognition ratifies that our staff keep focused on today and the impact they have on the lives of others.” Orange City Area Health System scored in the top 100 of Critical Access Hospitals on iVantage Health Analytics’ Hospital Strength INDEX®. The INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive rating of rural providers. It provides the data foundation for the annual Rural Relevance Study and its results are the basis for many of rural healthcare’s most prominent awards, advocacy efforts and legislative initiatives. The list of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals and more information about the study can be found at www.iVantageINDEX.com. The Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals play a key role in providing a safety net to communities across America – and the INDEX measures them across eight pillars of hospital strength: Inpatient Share Ranking, Outpatient Share Ranking, Cost, Charge, Quality, Outcomes, Patient Perspectives, and Financial Stability. “It’s more important than ever that rural hospitals proactively understand and address performance in the areas of cost, quality, outcomes and patient perspective. iVantage’s INDEX was designed to serve as this industry model,” said Michael Topchik, national leader of the Chartis Center for Rural Health. “Across the spectrum of performance indicators, there are rural providers that are writing the blueprint for success as they transition to value-based healthcare. Our analysis shows that this group of top performers exhibits a focused concern for their community needs.” Orange City Area Health System generates 742 jobs that add over $31 million to the region’s economy, according to the latest study by the Iowa Hospital Association. In addition, Orange City Area Health System employees by themselves spend over $7 million on retail sales and contribute over $423,000 in state sales tax revenue. “We recognize, accept, and embrace our role in the area’s economy,” said Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System. “While our first responsibility and obligation is to provide quality health care, we know and understand the importance of a healthy economy as well.” The IHA study examined the jobs, income, retail sales and sales tax produced by hospitals and the rest of the state’s health care sector. The study was compiled from hospital-submitted data on the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey of Hospitals and with software that other industries have used to determine their economic impact. The study found that Iowa hospitals directly employ 72,008 people and create another 55,492 jobs outside the hospital sector. As an income source, hospitals provide $4.5 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.3 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals. In all, Iowa’s health care sector, which includes offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners, nursing home and residential care, other medical and health services and pharmacies, contributes $16.6 billion to the state economy while directly and indirectly providing 324,977 jobs, or about one-fifth of the state’s total non-farm employment. “Through the many changes in health care, there is one certainty: That hospitals and health care are vital to Iowa’s economy,” said IHA president and CEO Kirk Norris. “With nearly 325,000 jobs, health care is one of Iowa’s largest employers, and hospitals remain, by far, the biggest contributor to that number. In Iowa cities and counties, hospitals are uniformly among the largest employers. “As our political leaders in Washington, DC and Des Moines consider legislation and regulations that impact hospitals and health care, they need to keep these facts in mind. As providers of high-quality, low-cost health care, good jobs and economic stability, there is no replacement for community hospitals.”Jesse Nieuwenhuis will be part of family medicine, OB, and ER team Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System, announced the signing of Jesse Nieuwenhuis, MD, to its Family Medicine group. Dr. Nieuwenhuis will join the health system this summer following his postdoctoral training with the Family Medicine Residency Program at the Siouxland Medical Education Foundation in Sioux City. Nieuwenhuis will be part of the health system’s current team of 20 family medicine providers. He will also offer prenatal and birth care and serve in the hospital’s emergency department. “We are obviously thrilled that Dr. Nieuwenhuis has chosen to join us,” reported Guthmiller. “Not only is he a scholar with excellent training, he is a Northwest Iowan and understands and embraces our culture and quality of life.” Nieuwenhuis received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He earned his Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Northwestern College in Orange City. Dr. Nieuwenhuis also served as a Public Health Microbiologist in Newborn Screening at the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa. He is a native of rural Paullina.Orange City Area Health System Auxiliary gifts $60,000 to health system 2017 gift helps fund state-of-the-art phone system for health system campuses The Orange City Area Health System Auxiliary presented a check for $60,000 to health system CEO Marty Guthmiller and COO Dan McCarty at their February 8 board meeting. The gift is made possible as a result of monthly Auxiliary fundraising activities during calendar year 2016, as well as a contribution from the hospital’s Gift Garden gift shop sales. The Orange City Area Health System Auxiliary hosts a wide variety of fundraisers each year, including Jewelry, Book, Scrubs, Gourmet Candy, Spring Plant and Poinsettia Sales, Ladies Night Out Style Show, Harvest Festival, and the Holiday Open House. “Our 20-member Auxiliary Board — from four communities — meet monthly and work all year long to plan, organize, and staff each monthly fundraiser,” reports Mary Plathe, Volunteer Services Manager for Orange City Area Health System. “This is an incredible group of women who give of their time for the benefit of the patients and families served by Orange City Area Health System.” The Auxiliary gift has been designated to help fund the purchase of the phone system update for the health system.