CMS certification 450389
Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital
2000 South Palestine St, Athens, TX 75751
Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 72% 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 3. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 35 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: 322 completed surveys, 17% 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 | TX | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 382 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 2 h 35 min | 2 h 25 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 25,531 patients | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 48 patients | 60% | 67% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 229 patients | 80% | 68% | 65% |
How Ut Health East Texas Athens 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ut Health East Texas Athens HospitalThis hospital | 2/5 | 72% | 2 h 35 min | 1 better 3 worse |
| CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital- JacksonvilleSame ZIP area · Jacksonville | Not rated | 92% | 1 h 36 min | 1 better |
| Ut Health East Texas Jacksonville HospitalSame ZIP area · Jacksonville | Not rated | 75% | 1 h 30 min | 1 worse |
| Ut Health East Texas Quitman HospitalSame ZIP area · Quitman | 4/5 | 79% | 2 h 16 min | No different |
| University of Texas Health Science Center at TylerSame ZIP area · Tyler | 4/5 | 81% | 2 h 33 min | 1 better |
| Baylor Scott & White Texas Spine & Joint HospitalSame ZIP area · Tyler | 5/5 | 86% | 2 h 32 min | 1 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 1,267 cases | Too few cases | 4.7% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 35 cases | Too few cases | 12% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 106 cases | Too few cases | 14.8% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 300 cases | Too few cases | 17% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 56 cases | Too few cases | 11.9% | 11.9% |
| COPD 72 cases | Too few cases | 7.9% | 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 | 0.94 likely 0.49 – 1.39 | 1 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 1,496 cases | No different | 0.39 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.45 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 1,999 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 1,984 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 208 cases | No different | 2.24 per 1,000 likely 0.54 per 1,000 – 3.94 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 42 cases | No different | 1.66 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.39 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 50 cases | No different | 8.79 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 18.65 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 220 cases | No different | 3.68 per 1,000 likely 1.15 per 1,000 – 6.21 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 42 cases | No different | 6.05 per 1,000 likely 1.75 per 1,000 – 10.34 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 85 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 307 cases | No different | 0.99 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.05 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
2 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 1.99 likely 0.33 – 6.59 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.14 likely 0.01 – 0.7 | 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 43 cases | Too few cases | 14.4% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 203 cases | Too few cases | 22.8% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 548 cases | Too few cases | 18.4% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 160 cases | Too few cases | 20.2% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 121 cases | Too few cases | -3.8 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 316 cases | Too few cases | 15.1 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 880 cases | No different | 14.4 per 1,000 likely 11 per 1,000 – 19 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 209 cases | No different | 1.1 likely 0.8 – 1.4 | — |
6 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
25 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 Medicine | 5 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 5 |
| Acute Care | 2 |
| Family Medicine | 2 |
| Internal Medicine | 2 |
| Anesthesiology | 1 |
| Cardiovascular Disease | 1 |
| Family | 1 |
| Hospitalist | 1 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 1 |
| Pharmacist | 1 |
| Pharmacist Clinician (PhC)/ Clinical Pharmacy Specialist | 1 |
First 12 alphabetically
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.
- 2024 $6,960
- 2025 $6,886
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $6,263 | 7 |
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $450 | 3 |
| Debt forgiveness | $174 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker Corporation | $6,263 | 7 |
| Carter Bloodcare | $450 | 3 |
| Aesculap, Inc. | $174 | 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 Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital
Is Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital a good hospital?
Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 2 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 3. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital?
72% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 322 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 35 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. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $6,886 in payments to Ut Health East Texas Athens Hospital for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.