Rogue Regional, Three Rivers Earn National Hospital Recognition

Both Asante hospitals were recognized by Forbes, while Rogue Regional received a national distinction for community access.

AT A GLANCE

Rogue Regional: Named a Forbes Top Hospital by State and received U.S. News & World Report recognition for community access.

Three Rivers: Named among Forbes’ Top Hospitals by State for 2026.

Oregon: Rogue Regional and Three Rivers were among six Oregon hospitals receiving five-star Forbes ratings.

Community access: Asante says Rogue Regional was the only Oregon hospital among 73 nationally receiving the U.S. News designation.

Context: The recognition comes during a year of financial pressures, labor disputes, and changes within parts of the Asante health system.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Two Southern Oregon hospitals are receiving national recognition for quality and access at a time when their parent health system has also been navigating one of its more complicated years.

Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford and Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass have both been named among Forbes’ Top Hospitals by State for 2026.

Rogue Regional also received U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional Hospitals for Community Access designation — making it the only hospital in Oregon and one of 73 nationwide to receive the recognition, according to Asante.

For the physicians, nurses, caregivers, and other employees working inside the two hospitals, Asante leaders say the recognition reflects the care being delivered every day.

“These recognitions reflect the dedication and expertise of our physicians, nurses and caregivers, whose commitment to serving our communities makes achievements like these possible,” Rogue Regional CEO Jon Cooper said.

Rogue Regional Medical Center: Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford was named among Forbes’ Top Hospitals by State and also received U.S. News & World Report recognition for community access. Asante.

Two of Oregon’s top-rated hospitals

Forbes’ 2026 state rankings are built from its national hospital ratings, which use federal data covering patient outcomes, hospital practices, value, and patient experience.

Patient outcomes carry the greatest weight in the Forbes methodology, accounting for 55% of the overall rating. The state list identifies roughly the top 30% of qualifying hospitals in each state.

Rogue Regional and Three Rivers were among six Oregon hospitals receiving five-star overall quality ratings from Forbes this year.

For Rogue Regional, the U.S. News recognition focuses specifically on access to care for underserved and vulnerable patients in the communities hospitals serve.

Three Rivers CEO Patrick Sharp said the honors validate the work happening inside the Grants Pass hospital.

“Being recognized by nationally respected organizations is a testament to our team's unwavering focus on service and excellence,” Sharp said.

Three Rivers Medical Center: Asante Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass was named among Forbes’ Top Hospitals by State for 2026. Asante.

Recognition during a challenging year

The accolades come against a more complicated backdrop for Asante.

Earlier this year, the health system announced plans to eliminate at least 300 positions while reporting a $16 million operating loss during the first half of its fiscal year and warning that, without changes, it could face a $50 million budget shortfall in 2027. Asante has attributed much of that pressure to rising costs and reimbursement challenges.

The system has also faced labor disputes, including a federal order involving bargaining with more than 250 Rogue Regional health care technicians, as well as a class-action lawsuit alleging employees were underpaid. Those allegations remain contested through the legal process.

Rogue Regional’s neonatal intensive care program has also undergone a contentious physician transition involving the nine neonatologists who previously staffed the region’s only NICU.

Separately, Asante and ATRIO Health Plans have been locked in a payment dispute. Asante has said the insurer owed nearly $60 million for care already provided, a dispute that resulted in restrictions on some routine care for ATRIO Medicare Advantage members earlier this year.

Against that backdrop, the new hospital rankings offer a different measure of the health system — one focused on clinical quality, outcomes, patient experience, and access rather than the financial and organizational challenges surrounding it.

Forbes itself cautions that hospital rankings are only one tool for evaluating care and are not intended to replace conversations between patients and their medical providers.

For Asante, however, having both of its major hospitals recognized nationally provides a significant bright spot during a year in which the organization has often found itself in the headlines for very different reasons.

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