USCareCheck

CMS certification 420067

Beaufort County Memorial Hospital

955 Ribaut Rd, Beaufort, SC 29902

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Beaufort County Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 41 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 4/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 62% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 3/5 825 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 0 worse 1 better of 24 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 825 completed surveys, 19% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
62%
SC 70% · US 71% · 3 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
61%
SC 72% · US 72% · 2 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
76%
SC 81% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
78%
SC 81% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
58%
SC 63% · US 62% · 2 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
84%
SC 87% · US 86% · 3 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
66%
SC 71% · US 74% · 3 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
54%
SC 62% · US 60% · 3 of 5 stars

This hospital South 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 high; 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 SC US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 472 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 22 min 3 h 41 min 2 h 38 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 18 visits sampled 5 h 39 min 4 h 4 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 45,971 patients 3% 2% 2%
Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 32 patients 81% 72% 69%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 205 patients 83% 63% 65%

How Beaufort County 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
Beaufort County Memorial HospitalThis hospital4/562%3 h 41 min1 better
Novant Health Hilton Head Medical CenterSame county · Hilton Head Island2/555%2 h 46 min2 better 1 worse
Coastal Carolina HospitalSame ZIP area · Hardeeville4/561%2 h 10 min2 better
Hampton Regional Medical CenterSame ZIP area · VarnvilleNot rated77%2 h 58 minNo different

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 Beaufort.

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 2,120 cases Too few cases 4.2% 3.9%
Heart attack 96 cases Too few cases 13.6% 11.9%
Heart failure 271 cases Too few cases 11.8% 11.1%
Pneumonia 286 cases Too few cases 13% 15.2%
Stroke 147 cases Too few cases 13% 11.9%
COPD 162 cases Too few cases 8.7% 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.

12 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 1.07 likely 0.69 – 1.44 1
After hip or knee replacement 37 cases Too few cases 3.8% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 29 cases No different 179.45 per 1,000 likely 119.43 per 1,000 – 239.46 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,793 cases No different 0.54 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.38 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 4,478 cases No different 0.22 per 1,000 likely 0.01 per 1,000 – 0.44 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 4,578 cases No different 0.31 per 1,000 likely 0.11 per 1,000 – 0.51 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 786 cases No different 2.56 per 1,000 likely 0.96 per 1,000 – 4.16 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 346 cases No different 2.01 per 1,000 likely 0.33 per 1,000 – 3.69 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 350 cases No different 9.93 per 1,000 likely 1.74 per 1,000 – 18.12 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 807 cases No different 3.77 per 1,000 likely 1.49 per 1,000 – 6.05 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 323 cases No different 6.6 per 1,000 likely 2.7 per 1,000 – 10.5 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 164 cases No different 1.67 per 1,000 likely 0.18 per 1,000 – 3.16 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 785 cases No different 0.91 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.93 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.

5 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) No different 1.35 likely 0.34 – 3.67 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 0.4 likely 0.02 – 1.96 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery No different 1.68 likely 0.43 – 4.58 1
MRSA bloodstream infections No different 0 1
C. diff intestinal infections No different 0.83 likely 0.43 – 1.44 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.

4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 93 cases Too few cases 14.7% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 431 cases Too few cases 21.1% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 324 cases Too few cases 16.5% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 234 cases Too few cases 19.7% 20%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 34 cases Too few cases 5.2% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 84 cases Too few cases -7.2 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 330 cases Too few cases -35.9 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 315 cases Too few cases -20.9 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 3,263 cases No different 13.2 per 1,000 likely 10.6 per 1,000 – 16.5 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 177 cases No different 8.3 per 100 likely 6.1 per 100 – 11.1 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 177 cases No different 4.9 per 100 likely 3.4 per 100 – 7.1 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 594 cases No different 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1.1 —

2 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

74 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 3 residents and trainees. 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
Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered 15
Anesthesiology 7
Dietitian, Registered 6
Physician Assistant 5
Emergency Medicine 4
Internal Medicine 4
Vascular & Interventional Radiology 4
Occupational Therapist 3
Physical Therapist 3
Critical Care Medicine 2
Diagnostic Radiology 2
Family 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 Beaufort County Memorial Hospital

Is Beaufort County Memorial Hospital a good hospital?

Beaufort County Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 24 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 Beaufort County Memorial Hospital?

62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 825 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Beaufort County Memorial Hospital emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 41 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with high patient volume, like this one, the median is 3 h 22 min. 3% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.