CMS certification 370089
Northeastern Health System
1400 East Downing Street, Tahlequah, OK 74465
Northeastern Health System has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 63% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 22 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 6 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.
What patients said
Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 421 completed surveys, 19% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
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 | OK | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 397 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 3 min | 2 h 6 min | 1 h 57 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 13 visits sampled | 4 h 36 min | 2 h 54 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 19,642 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 106 patients | 51% | 61% | 65% |
How Northeastern Health System 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern Health SystemThis hospital | 2/5 | 63% | 2 h 6 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| Cherokee Nation W W Hastings Indian HospitalSame city | 3/5 | 69% | — | 1 better |
| Wagoner Community HospitalSame ZIP area · Wagoner | 2/5 | 63% | 1 h 51 min | 1 better |
| Muscogee (creek) Nation Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Okmulgee | Not rated | 56% | 2 h 7 min | 1 better |
| Hillcrest Hospital HenryettaSame ZIP area · Henryetta | Not rated | 84% | 1 h 35 min | 1 worse |
| Muskogee VA Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Muskogee | 5/5 | 76% | — | 4 better |
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 Tahlequah.
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 859 cases | Too few cases | 4.6% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 53 cases | Too few cases | 13.2% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 123 cases | Too few cases | 14.5% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 102 cases | Too few cases | 16.4% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 51 cases | Too few cases | 11.8% | 11.9% |
| COPD 54 cases | Too few cases | 9.9% | 8.6% |
1 more measure 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 1.18 likely 0.79 – 1.58 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 56 cases | Too few cases | 4.1% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 25 cases | No different | 172.11 per 1,000 likely 111.37 per 1,000 – 232.84 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 1,428 cases | No different | 0.73 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.7 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 2,190 cases | No different | 0.18 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.41 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 2,238 cases | No different | 0.33 per 1,000 likely 0.12 per 1,000 – 0.54 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 647 cases | No different | 3.08 per 1,000 likely 1.49 per 1,000 – 4.67 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 346 cases | No different | 1.52 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.17 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 358 cases | No different | 13.66 per 1,000 likely 6 per 1,000 – 21.33 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 670 cases | No different | 3.56 per 1,000 likely 1.22 per 1,000 – 5.9 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 328 cases | No different | 6.08 per 1,000 likely 2.07 per 1,000 – 10.1 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 99 cases | No different | 1.72 per 1,000 likely 0.21 per 1,000 – 3.23 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 325 cases | No different | 1.26 per 1,000 likely 0.2 per 1,000 – 2.31 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 0.57 likely 0.03 – 2.81 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 1.59 likely 0.65 – 3.31 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.9 likely 0.05 – 4.46 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | No different | 0.58 likely 0.15 – 1.58 | 1 |
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 a heart attack 73 cases | Too few cases | 15.1% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 172 cases | Too few cases | 22.2% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 139 cases | Too few cases | 16.8% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 101 cases | Too few cases | 19.1% | 20% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 48 cases | Too few cases | 5.4% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 58 cases | Too few cases | 20.6 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 147 cases | Too few cases | 31.5 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 115 cases | Too few cases | -37 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 601 cases | No different | 13 per 1,000 likely 9.9 per 1,000 – 17.4 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 44 cases | No different | 10.5 per 100 likely 7.3 per 100 – 14.3 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 44 cases | No different | 4.8 per 100 likely 3 per 100 – 7.4 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 132 cases | No different | 1.1 likely 0.8 – 1.6 | — |
2 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Money from drug and device companies
Drug and device makers have to report what they pay teaching hospitals to CMS's Open Payments program. At many teaching hospitals most of it is research funding, or royalties for inventions the hospital licensed to a company. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.
- 2019 $14,000
- 2020 $720
- 2021 $34
- 2022 $3,612
- 2023 $13,355
- 2024 $6,521
- 2025 $809
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $761 | 2 |
| Debt forgiveness | $48 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker Corporation | $761 | 2 |
| Life Technologies Corporation | $48 | 1 |
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026. Full record on CMS Open Payments.
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 Northeastern Health System
Is Northeastern Health System a good hospital?
Northeastern Health System has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 22 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Northeastern Health System?
63% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 421 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Northeastern Health System emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 6 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. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Northeastern Health System receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $809 in payments to Northeastern Health System for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.