USCareCheck

CMS certification 040050

Ouachita County Medical Center

638 California Avenue, Camden, AR 71701

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Ouachita County Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 10 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 22 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min).

Every figure on this page is published by CMS; we arrange and explain it, and score nothing ourselves.

CMS overall rating 2/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 62% US average 71%
Patient survey rating Not rated 47 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 2 worse 0 better of 10 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 47 completed surveys, 13% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Very few patients were eligible for the CAHPS survey. The scores shown reflect fewer than 50 completed surveys. Use these scores with caution, as the number of surveys may be too low to reliably assess facility performance.
Would definitely recommend the hospital
62%
AR 71% · US 71%
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
72%
AR 73% · US 72%
Nurses always communicated well
82%
AR 81% · US 80%
Doctors always communicated well
88%
AR 82% · US 80%
Staff always explained new medicines
76%
AR 64% · US 62%
Given information about recovering at home
85%
AR 85% · US 86%
Room was always clean
67%
AR 74% · US 74%
Always quiet at night
68%
AR 66% · US 60%

This hospital Arkansas average US average

Emergency department

How long emergency patients spent here and how some time-critical care went, from CMS's timely and effective care measures, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025. CMS classes this emergency department's patient volume as low; busier departments tend to have longer times, so the national median for departments of the same volume is shown too. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.

Measure This hospital AR US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 298 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 3 min 2 h 22 min 2 h 30 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 11 visits sampled 2 h 48 min 3 h 46 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 13,201 patients 3% 2% 2%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 49 patients 45% 68% 65%

Deaths

How many patients died within 30 days of admission, adjusted by CMS for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2025.

Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
All patients, hospital-wide 148 cases Too few cases 6.2% 3.9%
Heart failure 36 cases Too few cases 12.7% 11.1%
Pneumonia 73 cases Too few cases 17.2% 15.2%

4 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Complications

How often patients had serious complications, most of them after surgery, adjusted for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2024.

7 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 0.95 likely 0.46 – 1.44 1
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 444 cases No different 0.52 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.74 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 519 cases No different 0.21 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.44 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 545 cases No different 0.27 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 0.48 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 41 cases No different 2.33 per 1,000 likely 0.59 per 1,000 – 4.06 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 45 cases No different 3.41 per 1,000 likely 0.8 per 1,000 – 6.03 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 36 cases No different 1.05 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.14 per 1,000 1.06 per 1,000

6 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Infections caught in the hospital

Standardized infection ratio: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one. Lower is better. Data from Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

1 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
C. diff intestinal infections No different 0 1

5 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Readmissions and return visits

How often patients had to come back to a hospital after going home. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2023 – Jun 2025.

1 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after heart failure 39 cases Too few cases 21.1% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 85 cases Too few cases 18.1% 17.3%
Days back in hospital after heart failure 39 cases Too few cases 27.7 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 81 cases Too few cases 95.5 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 60 cases No different 12.8 per 1,000 likely 9.3 per 1,000 – 17.4 per 1,000 13 per 1,000

9 more measures had too few cases here to report.

How to read this page

  • Everything here is published by CMS on Care Compare. We arrange it and explain it; the star ratings and the better / worse verdicts are CMS's, not ours.
  • “No different” is the most common result on most measures at most hospitals. CMS only calls a result better or worse when the difference from the national rate is statistically clear.
  • Death, complication and readmission rates are adjusted by CMS for how sick patients were, so hospitals that treat sicker patients can be compared fairly.
  • Infection results are ratios: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one, below 1.0 is fewer.
  • These are hospital-wide results. They do not rate an individual doctor, nurse or department, and they are not medical advice.

CMS Care Compare data retrieved 4 Oct 2026, refreshed weekly. Where this data comes from and how we handle it · Report an error

Common questions about Ouachita County Medical Center

Is Ouachita County Medical Center a good hospital?

Ouachita County Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 10 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Ouachita County Medical Center?

62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 47 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Ouachita County Medical Center emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 22 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with low patient volume, like this one, the median is 2 h 3 min. 3% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.