Hartford, KY – November 20, 2025 – On National Rural Health Day, Ohio County Healthcare (OCH) has been named Kentucky’s 2025 Community Star by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH). This award recognizes organizations that are making significant impacts on rural healthcare across the nation. Shellie Shouse, CEO, along with other leadership team members, received the award during the Kentucky Rural Health Association conference in Bowling Green.
Launched in 2015, the Community Star Recognition Program honors individuals and organizations dedicated to advancing rural health. OCH joins 46 other honorees across the nation who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to exceptional rural care and innovation.
As a Critical Access Hospital, OCH serves as a cornerstone of care for Western Kentucky, offering hospital, primary care, specialty services, behavioral health, and surgical care close to home. For many residents, OCH is the first and often only source of comprehensive health services. They are proud to be the only critical access hospital in the state to offer robotic surgical services.
In 2024, OCH earned the CMS 5-Star Patient Experience Rating, a distinction achieved by fewer than 10% of hospitals nationwide and even more rarely by rural facilities. This honor reflects the team’s unwavering dedication to communication, responsiveness, and compassion to our patients. Building on that achievement, being named Kentucky’s 2025 Community Star further affirms OCH’s commitment to excellence and innovation in rural health care.
OCH contributes success to strong community partnerships between local and state government organizations like the Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH). KORH has been instrumental in their support of education offerings/trainings and student loan repayment options to help develop the healthcare workforce. This program also provides a framework for linking rural communities with local, state and federal resources while working toward long-term solutions to rural health issues.
Matthew Coleman, Director of the KORH, said, “Ohio County Healthcare truly reflects the Power of Rural with its outstanding commitment to care. We’re proud to recognize OCH as Kentucky’s 2025 Community Star because it demonstrates what’s possible when a rural health system remains rooted in the community and committed to innovation.”
“OCH does not consider our geographic location or the size of healthcare system when determining expansion of services,” states Shellie Shouse, CEO. “Instead, we focus on what our patients need and what resources we can allocate to remove any barrier possible that prohibits access to care. We are proud to identify as a rural healthcare facility where cutting edge medicine meets outstanding community care.”
OCH will be featured on PowerOfRural.org beginning on National Rural Health Day on November 20, 2025, alongside other Community Stars nationwide. This annual celebration honors the nearly 61 million Americans living in rural communities and those who serve them. OCH will also be recognized on The Bridge Podcast published through a joint effort of the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health and the Kentucky Office of Rural Health. This podcast episode, “Highlighting the #PowerofRural at Ohio County Healthcare”, can be found on : https://www.buzzsprout.com/2363500/episodes/18220450.
For more information about National Rural Health Day and to read about this year’s Community Stars, visit https://PowerOfRural.org.
Ohio County Healthcare is a non-profit Joint Commission accredited health system which provides a wide range of hospital, primary care and specialty physician services.
Ohio County Healthcare offers a broad range of healthcare across a diverse landscape.
Ohio County Healthcare | 1211 Old Main Street, Hartford, KY 42347
