CMS certification 040055
Baptist Health - Fort Smith
1001 Towson Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901
Baptist Health - Fort Smith has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 66% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 4 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.
What patients said
Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 546 completed surveys, 18% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
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 high; 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 · 314 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 22 min | 2 h 4 min | 2 h 30 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 16 visits sampled | 2 h 46 min | 3 h 46 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 54,622 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 13 patients | 62% | 72% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 226 patients | 78% | 68% | 65% |
How Baptist Health - Fort Smith compares with nearby hospitals
The closest hospitals of the same kind that CMS rates or surveys - the same city first, then the same county and ZIP area. Every figure is CMS's: the overall star rating, the share of patients who would definitely recommend the hospital, the median time emergency patients spent before leaving, and how many death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS found better or worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | CMS stars | Would recommend | ER median time | Vs the nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptist Health - Fort SmithThis hospital | 2/5 | 66% | 2 h 4 min | 2 better 1 worse |
| Mercy Hospital Fort SmithSame city | 3/5 | 76% | 3 h 48 min | 4 better 1 worse |
| Mercy Hospital BoonevilleSame ZIP area · Booneville | 4/5 | 68% | 1 h 12 min | 1 better |
| Mercy Hospital OzarkSame ZIP area · Ozark | Not rated | 75% | 1 h 49 min | No different |
| Mercy Hospital WaldronSame ZIP area · Waldron | Not rated | 83% | 1 h 13 min | No different |
Hospitals differ in size and in how sick their patients are. CMS adjusts its outcome measures for that, but a star or a percentage is a starting point for questions, not a verdict. All hospitals in Fort Smith.
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 2,453 cases | Too few cases | 4.5% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 230 cases | Too few cases | 13.1% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 494 cases | Too few cases | 9.7% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 602 cases | Too few cases | 12.2% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 210 cases | Too few cases | 16.6% | 11.9% |
| COPD 216 cases | Too few cases | 9.1% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 60 cases | Too few cases | 3.1% | 2.4% |
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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 1.3 likely 1 – 1.61 | 1 |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 57 cases | No different | 169.06 per 1,000 likely 116.09 per 1,000 – 222.03 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 5,638 cases | Worse | 1.89 per 1,000 likely 1.29 per 1,000 – 2.48 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 6,277 cases | No different | 0.16 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.36 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 6,598 cases | No different | 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.06 per 1,000 – 0.44 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 1,214 cases | No different | 2.13 per 1,000 likely 0.67 per 1,000 – 3.59 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 361 cases | No different | 1.31 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.84 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 356 cases | No different | 8.25 per 1,000 likely 1.42 per 1,000 – 15.08 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,333 cases | No different | 3.04 per 1,000 likely 0.99 per 1,000 – 5.09 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 346 cases | No different | 5.07 per 1,000 likely 1.43 per 1,000 – 8.71 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 311 cases | No different | 1.89 per 1,000 likely 0.44 per 1,000 – 3.35 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,295 cases | Worse | 2.03 per 1,000 likely 1.1 per 1,000 – 2.95 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
1 more measure 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 0.24 likely 0.01 – 1.19 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0.6 likely 0.19 – 1.45 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.55 likely 0.09 – 1.82 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.71 likely 0.12 – 2.33 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.38 likely 0.18 – 0.72 | 1 |
1 more measure 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 312 cases | Too few cases | 15% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 779 cases | Too few cases | 21.7% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 871 cases | Too few cases | 15.5% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 323 cases | Too few cases | 20% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 87 cases | Too few cases | 12.5% | 11% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 239 cases | Too few cases | 37.1 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 597 cases | Too few cases | 25.6 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 648 cases | Too few cases | -10.5 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 955 cases | No different | 14.1 per 1,000 likely 11 per 1,000 – 18.3 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 157 cases | No different | 10.8 per 100 likely 8.3 per 100 – 14 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 157 cases | No different | 5.3 per 100 likely 3.7 per 100 – 7.5 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 551 cases | No different | 1 likely 0.8 – 1.3 | — |
2 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
94 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry. The same address can take in offices and clinics in the building, and a listing does not prove admitting privileges or current employment.
| Specialty | Clinicians |
|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine | 13 |
| Internal Medicine | 12 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 12 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 8 |
| Family | 8 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 5 |
| Acute Care | 4 |
| Family Medicine | 4 |
| Adult Health | 2 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 2 |
| Anesthesiology | 2 |
| Pharmacist | 2 |
First 12 alphabetically
Money from drug and device companies
Drug and device makers have to report what they pay teaching hospitals to CMS's Open Payments program. At many teaching hospitals most of it is research funding, or royalties for inventions the hospital licensed to a company. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.
- 2019 $408
- 2020 $2,005
- 2021 $1,944
- 2022 $4,365
- 2023 $32,822
- 2024 $10,543
- 2025 $49,358
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Debt forgiveness | $30,757 | 4 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $18,601 | 3 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| KLS-Martin L.P. | $24,157 | 2 |
| Stryker Corporation | $18,026 | 2 |
| Gyrus ACMI, Inc. | $6,600 | 2 |
| Linvatec Corporation | $575 | 1 |
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026. Full record on CMS Open Payments.
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 Baptist Health - Fort Smith
Is Baptist Health - Fort Smith a good hospital?
Baptist Health - Fort Smith has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Baptist Health - Fort Smith?
66% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 546 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Baptist Health - Fort Smith emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 4 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with high patient volume, like this one, the median is 3 h 22 min. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Baptist Health - Fort Smith receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $49,358 in payments to Baptist Health - Fort Smith for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.