CMS certification 160112
Spencer Municipal Hospital
1200 1st Avenue East, Spencer, IA 51301
Spencer Municipal Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 81% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 17 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 8 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: 312 completed surveys, 35% 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 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 | IA | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 341 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 3 min | 2 h 8 min | 2 h 3 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 30 visits sampled | 4 h 28 min | 3 h 37 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 8,567 patients | 0% | 3% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 100 patients | 92% | 63% | 65% |
How Spencer Municipal Hospital 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Municipal HospitalThis hospital | 4/5 | 81% | 2 h 8 min | 1 worse |
| Avera Holy Family HospitalSame ZIP area · Estherville | 2/5 | 81% | 1 h 50 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| Lakes Regional HealthcareSame ZIP area · Spirit Lake | 2/5 | 81% | 2 h 5 min | 4 worse |
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.
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 472 cases | Too few cases | 4.5% | 3.9% |
| Heart failure 130 cases | Too few cases | 12.5% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 195 cases | Too few cases | 16.6% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 41 cases | Too few cases | 13% | 11.9% |
| COPD 34 cases | Too few cases | 9% | 8.6% |
2 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 1.13 likely 0.68 – 1.58 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 119 cases | Too few cases | 4.5% | 4.1% |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 1,065 cases | No different | 0.96 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.09 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 1,448 cases | No different | 0.2 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.43 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 1,275 cases | No different | 0.26 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 461 cases | No different | 2.25 per 1,000 likely 0.54 per 1,000 – 3.95 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 253 cases | No different | 1.62 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.33 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 252 cases | No different | 9.58 per 1,000 likely 0.62 per 1,000 – 18.54 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 490 cases | No different | 4.13 per 1,000 likely 1.74 per 1,000 – 6.51 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 233 cases | No different | 5.57 per 1,000 likely 1.45 per 1,000 – 9.7 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 65 cases | No different | 1.74 per 1,000 likely 0.22 per 1,000 – 3.26 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 176 cases | No different | 1.01 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.08 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after heart failure 117 cases | Too few cases | 20.9% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 166 cases | Too few cases | 16.9% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 36 cases | Too few cases | 19.7% | 20% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 107 cases | Too few cases | 5.5% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 132 cases | Too few cases | 10 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 199 cases | Too few cases | 4.4 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 850 cases | No different | 12.5 per 1,000 likely 9.3 per 1,000 – 16.4 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 121 cases | No different | 8.9 per 100 likely 6.3 per 100 – 12.3 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 121 cases | No different | 6.5 per 100 likely 4.4 per 100 – 9.5 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 668 cases | No different | 1.1 likely 0.8 – 1.3 | — |
4 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
88 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 |
|---|---|
| Physical Therapist | 13 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 11 |
| Dietitian, Registered | 9 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 7 |
| Registered Nurse | 6 |
| Athletic Trainer | 4 |
| Orthopaedic Surgery | 4 |
| Pharmacist | 4 |
| Occupational Therapist | 3 |
| Physician Assistant | 3 |
| Specialist | 3 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 2 |
First 12 alphabetically
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 Spencer Municipal Hospital
Is Spencer Municipal Hospital a good hospital?
Spencer Municipal Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 17 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Spencer Municipal Hospital?
81% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 312 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Spencer Municipal Hospital emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 8 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. 0% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.