Dunstan Hospital is run by Central Otago Health Services Ltd (COHSL), a limited liability company owned by Central Otago Health, a community-owned incorporated society.
COHSL general manager Karyn Penno said the running of the hospital in Clyde shifted to the community about 15 years ago.
At the time, rural hospitals were being closed and ''this community said `yeah, no','' Ms Penno said.
A board comprised of elected and appointed members runs the hospital, with a catchment area across Central Otago, including Wanaka.
The buildings the hospital is based in are owned by the SDHB, but the assets are owned by the incorporated society.
The majority of funding for the hospital came from the SDHB, for which it delivered contracts for hospital-based services, specialist services operated in the community and outpatient services.
''We are not a public hospital, but a private hospital with contracts to deliver public health services and some private services.
''We run really, really well. It's really efficient.''
Funding for capital purchases came from the community and groups such as the Central Lakes Trust.
The community had also assisted with fundraising projects such as for a new CT scanner suite, which opened last year, she said.
Challenges faced by the hospital did not stem from being community-run, but from being funded by the SDHB, Ms Penno said.
Dunstan Hospital has one ward, Vincent, but does not have a walk-in emergency department.
Through district nurses, the hospital provided about 11,000 home visits last year.
Its outpatient department had about 6000 visits, and the hospital had just over 1700 patients.
