Ascension Seton Hays, a hospital in Kyle, announced its five-star rating in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2024 Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, on July 31. The ratings assess the quality of care, patient safety and experience.

The setup

The ratings are acquired from 46 publicly-reported quality measures categorized into the following sections:

• Mortality
• Patient experience
• Readmission
• Safety of care
• Time and effective care

Each measure is summarized into a single-star rating, with five stars indicating the highest level of hospital performance, according to a news release. Participating hospitals must collect data and report it on Care Compare, a website that connects patients to medical resources and providers.

The context

“It’s an honor for CMS to have rated Ascension Seton Hays among the highest performing, five-star rated hospitals in the U.S.,” President of Ascension Seton Hays Joan Ross said in a news release. “Our five-star performance on the CMS star ratings is a testament to the commitment of our caregivers and associates who deliver high-quality and compassionate care for the patients and communities we serve every day.”

Based on data from 2,847 hospitals, the national average star rating declined from 3.19 stars in 2023 to 3.13 stars in 2024. Ascension hospitals exceeded the national average and improved their average star rating from 3.27 in 2023 to 3.48 in 2024, according to a news release.