News and Announcements

The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) is proud to announce that two of the organization’s member hospitals have been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s “100 CAHs to Know” list.

In its introduction to the list, the publication said:

“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.”

Congratulations to the following ICAHN member hospitals being recognized:

HSHS St. Francis Hospital (Litchfield, Ill.). HSHS St. Francis Hospital is a 25-bed hospital, founded in 1875 by three Hospital Sisters of St. Francis. The hospital celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2025, making it one of the most historically rooted rural hospitals in the Midwest. The hospital is the only facility providing maternity services in a two-county area with a combined population of approximately 70,000, and in 2025 earned The Joint Commission’s “Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care,” making it one of a handful of hospitals in Illinois to achieve this distinction. The hospital was recognized by the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network as a 2024 “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Award” recipient for outstanding overall performance in quality, operational and financial metrics. HSHS St. Francis also received CMS 5-star recognition in both cleanliness and nurse communication in 2025. In fall 2025, the hospital completed an expansion of its cancer care center, doubling the number of treatment bays for infusion services in a project that was funded entirely by private donations to the HSHS St. Francis Foundation. The hospital also acquired advanced pulmonary function testing equipment in 2025, enabling local methacholine challenge testing for asthma and other respiratory conditions. In addition, the hospital joined a network of Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab programs to offer comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation with dietitian support and stress reduction counseling.

OSF HealthCare Saint Luke Medical Center (Kewanee, Ill.). The 25-bed Saint Luke Medical Center is part of Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare. The hospital offers an array of acute care and outpatient services, including various specialists, rehabilitation and diagnostic imaging services. The hospital also installed a community “Blessing Box” filled with non-perishable food and hygiene items for those in need, provided coping strategies workshops to students, and inaugurated an innovation hub for employees and community members to collaborate and brainstorm health care solutions. The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network acknowledged OSF Saint Luke with the 2022 “Quality of Care Outcomes and Top Performance” award.

View the complete list at Becker’s Hospital Review.