Prairie Lakes Healthcare System celebrates 5-star rating from CMS

Watertown Public Opinion
Updated ·2 min read

WATERTOWN — Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) recently received and celebrated an overall five out of five-star hospital rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on their Care Compare website.

“We are very proud of and grateful for all the staff that contributed to this top rating from CMS,” said Shelly Turbak, Chief Nursing Officer. “The five stars is a product of our collective and collaborative efforts, dedication, and continued focus on the Prairie Lakes mission and vision of serving our community with exceptional care every single day.”

The Prairie Lakes Healthcare System has received a 2023 five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Prairie Lakes Healthcare System has received a 2023 five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The overall star rating for hospitals nationwide is based on how well a hospital performs across quality-of-care measures, including readmission rates and safety of care. The overall rating, between 1 and 5 stars, summarizes a variety of measures across 5 areas of quality into a single star rating for each hospital. The 5 publicly reported measure groups include: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. Including Prairie Lakes, CMS awarded 481 hospitals nationwide with its top rating.

The more stars, the better a hospital performed on the available quality measures. CMS’s Care Compare website helps individuals and families decide and compare where to receive health care. Prairie Lakes achieved a four-star rating in 2022 and another five-star rating in 2021 from CMS.

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System serves a 10-county region in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. Prairie Lakes provides care at its hospital in Watertown as well as Prairie Lakes Cancer Center; Mallard Pointe Surgical Center; dialysis units in Sisseton, Watertown and Ortonville (Minn.); rehabilitation services and specialty services. Specialty services are a focus of PLHS to bring needed care to the region. These specialties include Cardiology, Dermatology, Ear, Nose & Throat, General Surgery, Hospice, Home Care, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology, Urology and Wound Care.

For more information, visit www.prairielakes.com.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Prairie Lakes Healthcare System receives five-star rating from CMS