Aspirus Lake View Named Top 20 Critical Access Hospital for Patient Perspective

Aspirus Lake View (ALV) in Two Harbors has once again elevated its standing, following its earlier designation this year as one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the country by the Chartis Center for Rural Health. The recognition is based on data from the Chartis Rural Hospital Perfor­mance INDEX, which evaluates hospitals in eight key areas: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient per­spective, cost, charge, and finance.

This marks the second consecutive year ALV has earned a Top 100 designation. But this time, the hospital has gone even further—earning recog­nition as a Top 20 CAH in the nation specifically for patient perspective, one of the INDEX’s core criteria. Out of approximately 1,350 CAHs in the country, ALV’s placement in the top 2% is no small feat.

“Achieving a top 20 designation has been a goal of our team for many years,” said Aspirus Lake View President Greg Ruberg. “To have it become a reality is incred­ibly rewarding and a powerful re­flection of how deeply we value our patients and their families. This national recognition places our or­ganization in the top 2% in the U.S. It’s a clear testament to our team’s unwavering commitment to deliv­ering the highest quality of person­alized care.”

This achievement is rooted in a vision Ruberg has nurtured since early in his career. He began work­ing at the hospital in 1998 after graduating from the College of St. Scholastica with a degree in Phys­ical Therapy. He soon became di­rector of Rehabilitation, later mov­ing into hospital administration in 2014, and was promoted in 2016 to President/CEO of Lake View and Vice President of St. Luke’s.

“Starting from day one in this job, I kept saying somebody’s got to be the best, and the reason we should strive for that is our patients and their families deserve it,” Ruberg said. “I wanted to create a hospi­tal that our county could be proud of, where people trusted us and felt comfortable coming to us.”

He said he first set the goal of reaching the Top 100 as a founda­tion. Last year’s success in doing so was, as he described it, “a big cel­ebration.”

There were many challenges along the way, but Ruberg said his team never lost sight of their top priority: those they serve.

“We really set a clear vision for the organization—what we want­ed to achieve over one year, three years, five years, and beyond,” Ru­berg said. “We called it a culture of excellence. It was a blueprint for where we wanted to go, and it was always centered on patients and their families.”

A major part of that blueprint in­cluded building the right team—en­suring the right people were in the right roles.

“It took us a number of years to make sure we had all the right peo­ple in the right positions—from physicians and nurse practitioners to surgeons, specialists, nurses, physical therapists, everyone across the organization,” Ruberg said. “And we just kept working at that.”

He emphasized that every role is essential.

“One of our philosophies here— and I’ve spoken about this for 11 years—is that to be successful in a hospital or clinic or health care sys­tem, every single role needs to work together effectively. The physician, the surgeon, the housekeeper, the registration staff—everybody. You need every role operating at the top of their potential, and you have to do it together.”

That’s why, when ALV celebrates its Top 20 award at the National Rural Health Association’s annual conference in September, Ruberg said the recognition belongs to ev­eryone involved.

“When we celebrate, it’s equal recognition for every member of our team, both in Two Harbors and at the Silver Bay Clinic, no matter what your role is. Whether you’re the president of the hospital or the concierge—we all have important roles to play,” he said. “It’s one team, and I think that’s really been a key in our success.”

Another key, he said, has been the team’s openness to sharing ideas for improvement.

“One of the best parts of my job is when I’m walking through the hospital and people stop me in the hallway to ask questions or share feedback. They stop by my office or send me emails with ideas and suggestions,” Ruberg said. “To me, that’s exactly the kind of team you want—people who are comfort­able and willing to say, ‘Hey, have we thought about this? Could we do this better?’ That’s why we’re successful. It’s every team mem­ber contributing from their unique point of view.”

Ruberg expressed deep gratitude for his team, particularly when he sees them in action with patients.

“Our staff just goes above and be­yond to make sure people feel com­fortable. They know where they’re going, they’re supported, and they have what they need,” he said. “It’s really rewarding to walk around and watch great employees do great work.”

Living in the community he serves, Ruberg said he hears feed­back from residents everywhere he goes.

“If I go to the grocery store, the hardware store, or the gas station, I hear feedback about Lake View. That’s the benefit of being in your own community,” he said. “And I hear overwhelmingly positive, heartwarming stories about our providers and staff—about those extra little things they do.”

Two Harbors has always been Ruberg’s home. He was born at Lake View and graduated from Two Harbors High School. All three of his children also graduated from the local high school— the most recent just this spring—and each has chosen a path in patient care. His eldest just com­pleted pharmacy school at the University of Min­nesota, and the other two are pursuing dentistry.

“They’ve all said they want to do something where they can serve patients and get to know people and their fami­lies,” Ruberg said. “And I’m really happy to hear that.”

That sense of purpose is something Ruberg knows well.

“My favorite part about serving my own commu­nity is how rewarding it’s been,” he said. “In the early part of my career, I helped people recover from accidents and injuries as a PT. And now, in this role, I support our team of caregiv­ers, providers, and staff in helping patients across Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and all of Lake County. I don’t think there’s a more rewarding job than serving your own community in this way.”

He also emphasized the impor­tance of collaboration.

“I want to thank our community partners across Lake County—pub­lic health, local law enforcement, EMS, the school district, our local media. It really takes an entire com­munity for us to be successful,” Ru­berg said. “We can’t do this alone, and we’ve got strong partnerships across Lake County and beyond. We also have great national part­ners.”

He extended heartfelt thanks to the patients and their families, too.

“They put a lot of trust in us,” Ruberg said. “They trust us to pro­vide their care, and we’re honored and privileged to do so. This ‘Top 20’ recognition—it’s their feed­back. That’s what made this possi­ble. They fill out surveys and share what’s working and what’s not. So a sincere thank you goes out to ev­eryone who took the time to fill out a survey. Without it, we wouldn’t have been recognized.”

The honor comes at a time when rural health care faces serious chal­lenges nationwide.

“There are challenges across Minnesota and across the country in rural health care,” Ruberg said. “But our team is defying the odds. I’m just so proud of the dedication of our people—showing up, doing their best work, and making this success possible.”