USCareCheck

CMS certification 34017F

W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury)

1601 Brenner Avenue, Salisbury, NC 28144

Acute Care - Veterans Administration Emergency services

W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury) has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 77% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 8 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 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 4/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 77% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 4/5 482 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 0 worse 4 better of 8 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 482 completed surveys, 36% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
77%
NC 70% · US 71% · 4 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
81%
NC 71% · US 72% · 4 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
84%
NC 80% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
84%
NC 81% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
72%
NC 63% · US 62% · 4 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
90%
NC 87% · US 86% · 5 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
84%
NC 71% · US 74% · 5 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
67%
NC 60% · US 60% · 4 of 5 stars

This hospital North Carolina average US average

How W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury) 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
W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury)This hospital4/577%—4 better
Novant Health Rowan Medical CenterSame city4/561%3 h 25 min3 better 1 worse
Rutherford Regional Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Rutherfordton2/553%2 h 24 min2 worse
Atrium Health ClevelandSame ZIP area · Shelby3/566%2 h 40 min2 better 1 worse
Atrium Health AnsonSame ZIP area · WadesboroNot rated75%1 h 58 minNo different
Duke Health Lake Norman HospitalSame ZIP area · Mooresville1/551%3 h 10 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. All hospitals in Salisbury.

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 943 cases Too few cases 3.9% 3.9%
Heart failure 166 cases Too few cases 13.1% 11.1%
Pneumonia 176 cases Too few cases 13.4% 15.2%
COPD 108 cases Too few cases 11.5% 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.

1 worse than the nation 10 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 1.38 likely 0.95 – 1.8 1
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,272 cases Worse 2 per 1,000 likely 1 per 1,000 – 3 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 3,834 cases No different 0.33 per 1,000 likely 0.1 per 1,000 – 0.56 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 3,924 cases No different 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.46 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 285 cases No different 2.11 per 1,000 likely 0.46 per 1,000 – 3.77 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 128 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 136 cases No different 7.59 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 16.75 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 289 cases No different 3.69 per 1,000 likely 1.16 per 1,000 – 6.22 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 92 cases No different 5.64 per 1,000 likely 1.49 per 1,000 – 9.79 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 127 cases No different 1.69 per 1,000 likely 0.19 per 1,000 – 3.19 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 469 cases No different 0.98 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.03 per 1,000 1.06 per 1,000

2 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 133 cases Too few cases 20.6% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 144 cases Too few cases 16.5% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 85 cases Too few cases 19.6% 20%
Days back in hospital after heart failure 187 cases Too few cases -49.9 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 193 cases Too few cases -27 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

505 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
Clinical 107
Pharmacist 62
Optometrist 25
Physician Assistant 19
Internal Medicine 17
Recreation Therapist 14
Dietitian, Registered 13
Psychiatry 13
Family 11
Pharmacist Clinician (PhC)/ Clinical Pharmacy Specialist 10
Registered Nurse 10
Family Medicine 9

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 W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury)

Is W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury) a good hospital?

W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury) has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 8 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury)?

77% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 482 completed HCAHPS surveys.

Does W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury) have an emergency room?

Yes. CMS lists emergency services at W.G. (bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (salsbury).