USCareCheck

CMS certification 170013

Hays Medical Center

2220 Canterbury Drive, Hays, KS 67601

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Hays Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 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 3. Emergency patients spend a median of 1 h 52 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 3/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 66% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 3/5 779 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 3 worse 2 better of 24 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 779 completed surveys, 28% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
66%
KS 78% · US 71% · 3 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
69%
KS 79% · US 72% · 3 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
78%
KS 83% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
78%
KS 84% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
64%
KS 66% · US 62% · 3 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
88%
KS 89% · US 86% · 4 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
69%
KS 80% · US 74% · 3 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
60%
KS 67% · US 60% · 4 of 5 stars

This hospital Kansas 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 KS US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 378 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 3 min 1 h 52 min 2 h 5 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 19 visits sampled 4 h 34 min 3 h 10 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 12,205 patients 0% 2% 2%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 186 patients 65% 63% 65%

How Hays Medical Center 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
Hays Medical CenterThis hospital3/566%1 h 52 min2 better 3 worse
Graham County HospitalSame ZIP area · Hill CityNot rated86%2 h 24 minNo different
Norton County HospitalSame ZIP area · NortonNot rated75%1 h 57 min1 better
Phillips County HospitalSame ZIP area · PhillipsburgNot rated72%1 h 56 minNo different
Rooks County Health CenterSame ZIP area · PlainvilleNot rated81%1 h 35 min1 better
Russell Regional HospitalSame ZIP area · Russell3/575%1 h 14 minNo 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.

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 1,349 cases Too few cases 4.4% 3.9%
Heart attack 182 cases Too few cases 12% 11.9%
Heart failure 273 cases Too few cases 10.3% 11.1%
Pneumonia 372 cases Too few cases 16.7% 15.2%
Stroke 74 cases Too few cases 12.9% 11.9%
COPD 108 cases Too few cases 10.3% 8.6%
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 68 cases Too few cases 6.5% 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.

1 worse than the nation 11 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 1.24 likely 0.91 – 1.57 1
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 66 cases No different 177.04 per 1,000 likely 121.36 per 1,000 – 232.72 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,969 cases No different 0.63 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.37 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 3,955 cases No different 0.26 per 1,000 likely 0.06 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 3,999 cases No different 0.27 per 1,000 likely 0.07 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 935 cases No different 1.91 per 1,000 likely 0.34 per 1,000 – 3.48 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 294 cases No different 2.61 per 1,000 likely 1.02 per 1,000 – 4.2 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 310 cases Worse 16.71 per 1,000 likely 9.83 per 1,000 – 23.59 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,138 cases No different 3.8 per 1,000 likely 1.8 per 1,000 – 5.81 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 284 cases No different 5.32 per 1,000 likely 1.58 per 1,000 – 9.07 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 155 cases No different 1.63 per 1,000 likely 0.16 per 1,000 – 3.11 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 557 cases No different 0.84 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.82 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.

3 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) No different 0.94 likely 0.16 – 3.09 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 0.82 likely 0.04 – 4.03 1
C. diff intestinal infections No different 1.06 likely 0.52 – 1.94 1

3 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.

4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 154 cases Too few cases 15% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 263 cases Too few cases 20.4% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 322 cases Too few cases 18.8% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 106 cases Too few cases 19.2% 20%
Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 52 cases Too few cases 10.3% 11%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 191 cases Too few cases 0 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 339 cases Too few cases -18.3 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 439 cases Too few cases 26.9 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 1,208 cases No different 11.4 per 1,000 likely 8.5 per 1,000 – 14.8 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 307 cases No different 11.6 per 100 likely 9 per 100 – 14.7 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 307 cases No different 5.1 per 100 likely 3.7 per 100 – 7.1 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 832 cases No different 1.2 likely 1 – 1.5 —

2 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

111 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
Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered 16
Emergency Medicine 10
Hospitalist 9
Dietitian, Registered 7
Registered Nurse 7
Anesthesiology 6
Family 6
Nurse Practitioner 5
Oncology 4
Physician Assistant 4
Cardiovascular Disease 3
Hematology & Oncology 3

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 Hays Medical Center

Is Hays Medical Center a good hospital?

Hays Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 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 3. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Hays Medical Center?

66% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 779 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Hays Medical Center emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 1 h 52 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.