Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System receives top score in latest CMS hospital ratings

CMS’s hospital ratings are based on five categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience and timely and effective care. A higher star rating, out of 5, indicates better performance on these quality measures. 

Within the last year, GCVHCS has instituted several improvements to better serve Veterans. These include:

• Consistently maintained a five-star Community Living Center rating.
• Established a new lung cancer screening program with a dedicated patient care team at the Biloxi VA Medical Center, increasing access to early lung cancer detection and treatment.
• Pharmacy initiated the ‘Park a Prescription program,’ successfully allowing Veterans to delay the receipt of unneeded refills. Approximately 7,500 prescriptions have been delayed this year with an approximate savings of $3,700 monthly.
• From October 2024 until August 2025, the homeless Veterans Program responded to more than 1,400 National Hotline calls, placing more than 423 homeless Veterans in permanent housing. During this same period, the program connected nearly 500 homeless Veterans with healthcare services.
• More than 470 Veterans participated in 550+ virtual reality patient clinical demonstrations and education sessions (with 439 headsets deployed for home use). Reported outcomes include a 36.18% average reduction in pain, 30.37% reduction in anxiety, and a 48.29% reduction in stress.

 
"These ratings highlight the excellent care Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System provides,” said Stephanie Repasky, GCVHCS director.  “Our job is to continue raising the bar for customer service and convenience throughout the department, so GCVHCS  works better for the Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors we are charged with serving.” 

As part of CMS’s 2025 ratings, 77% of VA hospitals that received an Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating received 4 or 5 stars, and no VA hospitals received a one-star rating. More than 90% of VA hospitals with ratings maintained or improved their 2024-star rating.

View the star ratings and methodology for the ratings.

Overall VA improvements during the second Trump Administration:

•  The backlog of Veterans waiting for VA benefits is down more than 37% since Jan. 20, 2025.
• VA has opened 16 new health care clinics, expanding access for Veterans around the country.
• VA is spending an additional $800 million on infrastructure improvements to ensure department facilities provide safe and effective patient care.
• Since Jan. 20, VA has offered nearly 1 million health care appointments outside of normal operating hours. These early-morning, evening, and weekend appointments are giving Veterans more timely and convenient options for care.
• VA is processing record numbers of disability claims, reaching an all-time fiscal-year high of 2.52 million ratings claims for FY25 as of Aug. 8.
• VA has made it easier and faster for VA-enrolled Veterans to access care from non-VA providers at the department’s expense.
• VA has implemented major reforms to make it easier for survivors to get benefits.
• VA is accelerating the deployment of its integrated electronic health record system.
• VA partnered with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to identify and recover $106 million in duplicate billing.
• VA has brought tens of thousands of VA employees back to the office, where we can work better as a team to serve Veterans.
• In fiscal year 2025 through June, VA has housed 37,534 homeless Veterans. 
   

For more information, contact Public Affairs Specialist Carla Thomas by email at carla.thomas@va.gov.