USCareCheck

CMS certification 27003F

VA Montana Healthcare System

3687 Veterans Drive, Fort Harrison, MT 59636

Acute Care - Veterans Administration Emergency services

VA Montana Healthcare System has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. 86% 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 1 and worse on none.

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

CMS overall rating 5/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 86% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 5/5 180 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 0 worse 1 better of 10 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 180 completed surveys, 38% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
86%
MT 75% · US 71% · 5 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
83%
MT 74% · US 72% · 5 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
86%
MT 82% · US 80% · 5 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
88%
MT 82% · US 80% · 5 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
81%
MT 65% · US 62% · 5 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
93%
MT 89% · US 86% · 5 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
76%
MT 74% · US 74% · 4 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
65%
MT 62% · US 60% · 4 of 5 stars

This hospital Montana average US average

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 268 cases Too few cases 3.6% 3.9%
Heart failure 39 cases Too few cases 10.4% 11.1%
Pneumonia 57 cases Too few cases 12.8% 15.2%
COPD 64 cases Too few cases 9.6% 8.6%

3 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.

9 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 0.95 likely 0.47 – 1.44 1
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 837 cases No different 0.48 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.66 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 1,064 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 1,176 cases No different 0.31 per 1,000 likely 0.09 per 1,000 – 0.52 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 43 cases No different 2.33 per 1,000 likely 0.59 per 1,000 – 4.06 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 25 cases No different 1.67 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.4 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 26 cases No different 9.25 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 19.36 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 46 cases No different 3.46 per 1,000 likely 0.83 per 1,000 – 6.09 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 44 cases No different 1.06 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.15 per 1,000 1.06 per 1,000

4 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 35 cases Too few cases 20.9% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 40 cases Too few cases 16.9% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 51 cases Too few cases 19.4% 20%
Days back in hospital after heart failure 46 cases Too few cases -23.4 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 64 cases Too few cases -26.5 days per 100 —

9 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Not reported for this hospital

CMS had too few cases here to publish results for infections caught in the hospital. That is common at small, rural and specialty hospitals, and says nothing either way about quality.

Clinicians registered at this address

96 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
Pharmacist 16
Clinical 14
Pharmacist Clinician (PhC)/ Clinical Pharmacy Specialist 8
Family 6
Psychiatric/Mental Health 5
Registered Nurse 5
Social Worker 4
Mental Health 3
Physical Therapist 3
Family Medicine 2
Internal Medicine 2
Licensed Practical Nurse 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 VA Montana Healthcare System

Is VA Montana Healthcare System a good hospital?

VA Montana Healthcare System has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Of the 10 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend VA Montana Healthcare System?

86% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 180 completed HCAHPS surveys.

Does VA Montana Healthcare System have an emergency room?

Yes. CMS lists emergency services at VA Montana Healthcare System.