USCareCheck

CMS certification 340097

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital

180 Parkwood Dr, Elkin, NC 28621

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 68% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 16 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 48 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 68% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 4/5 378 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 2 worse 0 better of 16 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 378 completed surveys, 18% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
68%
NC 70% · US 71% · 3 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
70%
NC 71% · US 72% · 3 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
82%
NC 80% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
81%
NC 81% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
63%
NC 63% · US 62% · 3 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
89%
NC 87% · US 86% · 4 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
78%
NC 71% · US 74% · 4 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
61%
NC 60% · US 60% · 4 of 5 stars

This hospital North Carolina 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 NC US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 1,367 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min 2 h 48 min 3 h 7 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 38 visits sampled 11 h 28 min 5 h 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 24,819 patients 0% 2% 2%
Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 12 patients 83% 71% 69%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 146 patients 58% 64% 65%

How Hugh Chatham Memorial 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
Hugh Chatham Memorial HospitalThis hospital3/568%2 h 48 min2 worse
Northern Regional HospitalSame county · Mount Airy4/578%3 h 12 minNo different
Watauga Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Boone3/577%3 h 12 min1 better 1 worse
Ashe Memorial HospitalSame ZIP area · Jefferson3/568%2 h 58 minNo different
Catawba Valley Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Hickory2/574%3 h 48 min3 better 5 worse
Frye Regional Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Hickory2/561%2 h 54 min1 better 2 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 731 cases Too few cases 5.3% 3.9%
Heart failure 71 cases Too few cases 13.5% 11.1%
Pneumonia 154 cases Too few cases 18% 15.2%
Stroke 91 cases Too few cases 17.1% 11.9%
COPD 41 cases Too few cases 10% 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.

8 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 0.97 likely 0.48 – 1.45 1
After hip or knee replacement 76 cases Too few cases 3.8% 4.1%
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 778 cases No different 0.49 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.68 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 1,181 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 1,151 cases No different 0.26 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 0.48 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 216 cases No different 2.3 per 1,000 likely 0.58 per 1,000 – 4.03 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 242 cases No different 3.73 per 1,000 likely 1.18 per 1,000 – 6.28 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 46 cases No different 2.09 per 1,000 likely 0.57 per 1,000 – 3.62 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 132 cases No different 1.03 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.11 per 1,000 1.06 per 1,000

4 more measures 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.

2 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 0 1
C. diff intestinal infections No different 0.67 likely 0.21 – 1.61 1

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.

2 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after heart failure 153 cases Too few cases 22.4% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 343 cases Too few cases 16.1% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 93 cases Too few cases 21.1% 20%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 60 cases Too few cases 5.2% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after heart failure 86 cases Too few cases 31.4 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 164 cases Too few cases 14.9 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 413 cases No different 13.2 per 1,000 likely 9.8 per 1,000 – 17.7 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 281 cases No different 1.1 likely 0.8 – 1.5 —

6 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

33 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
Physician Assistant 8
Emergency Medicine 4
Dietitian, Registered 3
Family 3
Internal Medicine 3
Anesthesiology 2
Medical 2
Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered 2
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism 1
Family Medicine 1
Hospitalist 1
Lactation Consultant 1

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 Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital

Is Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital a good hospital?

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 16 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital?

68% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 378 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 48 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. 0% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.