CMS certification 390339
Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center
2160 State Road, Lancaster, PA 17601
Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 79% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 17 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 3 h 51 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: 1,443 completed surveys, 29% 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 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 | PA | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 381 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 3 h 51 min | 3 h 6 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 17 visits sampled | 6 h 56 min | 4 h 57 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 31,375 patients | 4% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 215 patients | 54% | 60% | 65% |
How Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical CenterThis hospital | 3/5 | 79% | 3 h 51 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| Lancaster General HospitalSame city | 5/5 | 71% | 3 h 29 min | 11 better |
| UPMC LititzSame county · Lititz | 4/5 | 77% | 2 h 44 min | 1 better |
| Wellspan Ephrata Community HospitalSame county · Ephrata | 5/5 | 63% | 3 h 4 min | 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 Lancaster.
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 1,916 cases | Too few cases | 3.1% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 47 cases | Too few cases | 11.6% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 158 cases | Too few cases | 9.4% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 119 cases | Too few cases | 11.7% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 125 cases | Too few cases | 8.8% | 11.9% |
| COPD 47 cases | Too few cases | 7.2% | 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 | 0.89 likely 0.45 – 1.34 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 78 cases | Too few cases | 3.5% | 4.1% |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 1,574 cases | No different | 0.4 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.47 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 1,942 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 1,942 cases | No different | 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 299 cases | No different | 2.21 per 1,000 likely 0.52 per 1,000 – 3.89 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 135 cases | No different | 1.64 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.36 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 136 cases | No different | 7.65 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 16.85 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 343 cases | No different | 4.38 per 1,000 likely 1.92 per 1,000 – 6.84 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 139 cases | No different | 4.78 per 1,000 likely 0.63 per 1,000 – 8.93 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 141 cases | No different | 1.7 per 1,000 likely 0.2 per 1,000 – 3.21 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 365 cases | No different | 0.96 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 0.86 likely 0.04 – 4.26 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.39 likely 0.14 – 0.86 | 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 75 cases | Too few cases | 13.5% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 340 cases | Too few cases | 23.1% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 260 cases | Too few cases | 17.3% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 145 cases | Too few cases | 20.8% | 20% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 96 cases | Too few cases | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 172 cases | Too few cases | 50.9 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 123 cases | Too few cases | -32.9 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 127 cases | No different | 13.7 per 1,000 likely 10 per 1,000 – 18.3 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 488 cases | No different | 1.2 likely 1 – 1.5 | — |
5 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
28 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 |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 4 |
| Internal Medicine | 3 |
| Pulmonary Disease | 3 |
| Acute Care | 2 |
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | 2 |
| Medical | 2 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 2 |
| Registered Nurse | 2 |
| Emergency Medicine | 1 |
| Interventional Cardiology | 1 |
| Neurology | 1 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 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 Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center
Is Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center a good hospital?
Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 17 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 Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center?
79% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,443 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 51 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. 4% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.