USCareCheck

CMS certification 180104

Baptist Health Paducah

2501 Kentucky Avenue, Paducah, KY 42003

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Baptist Health Paducah has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 80% 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 4 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 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.

CMS overall rating 4/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 80% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 4/5 871 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 1 worse 4 better of 24 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 871 completed surveys, 25% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
80%
KY 71% · US 71% · 5 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
76%
KY 73% · US 72% · 4 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
83%
KY 82% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
82%
KY 82% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
63%
KY 63% · US 62% · 3 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
87%
KY 87% · US 86% · 4 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
72%
KY 75% · US 74% · 4 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
65%
KY 62% · US 60% · 4 of 5 stars

This hospital Kentucky 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 medium; 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 KY US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 384 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min 3 h 4 min 2 h 30 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 12 visits sampled 3 h 37 min 3 h 30 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 38,411 patients 1% 2% 2%
Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 14 patients 50% 68% 69%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 334 patients 70% 68% 65%

How Baptist Health Paducah 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 PaducahThis hospital4/580%3 h 4 min4 better 1 worse
Mercy Health - Lourdes HospitalSame city3/568%2 h 53 min3 better 1 worse
Marshall County HospitalSame ZIP area · Benton2/581%1 h 32 minNo different
Jackson Purchase Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Mayfield1/558%2 h 12 min1 worse
Murray-Calloway County HospitalSame ZIP area · Murray3/574%2 h 39 min2 worse
Livingston Hospital and Healthcare Services, INCSame ZIP area · Salem4/587%1 h 46 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. All hospitals in Paducah.

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 2,644 cases Too few cases 4% 3.9%
Heart attack 163 cases Too few cases 11.8% 11.9%
Heart failure 381 cases Too few cases 12.7% 11.1%
Pneumonia 437 cases Too few cases 15.5% 15.2%
Stroke 216 cases Too few cases 12.8% 11.9%
COPD 177 cases Too few cases 9.8% 8.6%
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 173 cases Too few cases 2.6% 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.

2 worse than the nation 10 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure Worse 1.36 likely 1.05 – 1.68 1
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 46 cases No different 187.99 per 1,000 likely 130.09 per 1,000 – 245.9 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 3,782 cases Worse 2.4 per 1,000 likely 1.63 per 1,000 – 3.16 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 5,537 cases No different 0.21 per 1,000 likely 0.01 per 1,000 – 0.42 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 5,655 cases No different 0.29 per 1,000 likely 0.1 per 1,000 – 0.49 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 1,624 cases No different 1.86 per 1,000 likely 0.49 per 1,000 – 3.22 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 849 cases No different 1.21 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.69 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 831 cases No different 7.82 per 1,000 likely 2.38 per 1,000 – 13.26 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,669 cases No different 2.73 per 1,000 likely 0.68 per 1,000 – 4.79 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 840 cases No different 4.12 per 1,000 likely 0.58 per 1,000 – 7.67 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 255 cases No different 1.64 per 1,000 likely 0.16 per 1,000 – 3.12 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 737 cases No different 0.89 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.89 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.

1 better than the nation 4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) No different 1.21 likely 0.38 – 2.91 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 0.61 likely 0.1 – 2.02 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery No different 0.91 likely 0.15 – 3 1
MRSA bloodstream infections No different 0.5 likely 0.03 – 2.47 1
C. diff intestinal infections Better 0.2 likely 0.07 – 0.44 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.

4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 218 cases Too few cases 13.7% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 512 cases Too few cases 23.1% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 538 cases Too few cases 18% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 257 cases Too few cases 20.8% 20%
Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 183 cases Too few cases 9.4% 11%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 199 cases Too few cases -33.1 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 439 cases Too few cases -12 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 468 cases Too few cases -6.2 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 3,456 cases No different 11 per 1,000 likely 8.8 per 1,000 – 13.7 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 220 cases No different 9.8 per 100 likely 7.1 per 100 – 13.2 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 220 cases No different 5.1 per 100 likely 3.5 per 100 – 7.4 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 937 cases No different 1.2 likely 1 – 1.5 —

2 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

102 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 28
Family 13
Nurse Practitioner 9
Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology 7
Anesthesiology 5
Diagnostic Radiology 4
Pharmacist 4
Physician Assistant 4
Acute Care 3
Emergency Medicine 3
Internal Medicine 3
Critical Care Medicine 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 Baptist Health Paducah

Is Baptist Health Paducah a good hospital?

Baptist Health Paducah has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 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 Paducah?

80% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 871 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Baptist Health Paducah emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 4 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with medium patient volume, like this one, the median is 2 h 45 min. 1% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.