Cherry County Hospital (Valentine, Neb.). Cherry County Hospital serves people from north central Nebraska and south central South Dakota, as it is situated about 10 miles south of the South Dakota border. Its history dates back to 1912 when it was known as Sandhills General Hospital. The rural hospital has recently earned national recognition for excellence — iVantage Health Analytics has named it as a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital three times, most recently this year. Also in 2015, the National Rural Health Association named Cherry County Hospital as a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital.