Chester County Hospital has been awarded a five-star rating – the highest possible score – by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In Pennsylvania, only 22 hospitals were given a five-star rating from CMS. Chester County Hospital tops the list and is one of just two hospitals in the county to receive the prestigious ranking.

Published by CMS, the assessments are designed to help consumers compare hospitals at more than 4,000 facilities nationwide. Only 13 percent of eligible hospitals in the U.S. received the esteemed grade in 2021. The national CMS rating average is three out of five stars.

Hospitals have reported data on quality measures to CMS, a federal government entity, for well over a decade. In an effort to make this data more transparent and accessible to the general public, CMS summarized this data into a single star rating for each hospital. The agency publicizes these ratings on Hospital Compare, a consumer-oriented website that provides information on the quality of care patients receive at healthcare facilities.

According to Mary Lou Lafreniere, director of Quality Management at Chester County Hospital, this rating is important for healthcare consumers because it provides a reliable way to make an informed decision when seeking care.

“The easy-to-understand five-star hospital ratings empower people to compare hospitals and ask important questions about the quality of the facilities they are comparing,” said Lafreniere.

The five-star scale was developed with public input and a Technical Expert Panel. The methodology for the ratings is continuously analyzed and enhanced through public feedback to ensure individuals are able to compare hospitals based on the information most pertinent to their choice of healthcare facilities.

“This prestigious accolade from CMS reinforces our promise to be the leading provider of care in the region and a national model for quality, service excellence, and fiscal stewardship,” said Chester County Hospital CEO Michael J. Duncan. “The high-scoring evaluation reflects the excellent patient-centered care our staff and employees provide. My thanks go out to every one of our great employees for this achievement.”

The CMS five-star rating adds to Chester County Hospital’s impressive record of recent accolades. Earlier this year, the hospital received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group. Newsweek also listed Chester County Hospital as No. 5 in the state and No. 85 in the U.S. on its annual World’s Best Hospitals list. This is the second consecutive designation from the organization, making CCH the highest-ranked community-based hospital in Pennsylvania two years running.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administers the Medicare program and partners with state governments to administer Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace. The agency publicly launched the hospital rating system in 2016. The overall summary rating is based on a cumulative score from 57 measures across seven different areas, including mortality, readmission, safety of care, patient experience, efficient use of medical imaging, and timeliness and effectiveness of care. Check out the full list, broken down by state.