VA Palo Alto health care receives top scores 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, VA Palo Alto health care has instituted a number of improvements to better serve Veterans. These include:

• Achieved Pathway to Excellence Designation which recognizes hospitals and health care organizations for creating positive work environments where nurses can thrive.
• Improved timely access to care by reallocating staff to panels in outpatient clinics to increase access.
• Engaged with Veterans through Veteran Town Halls, Veteran Focus Council, Veteran and Family Advisory Committee, and training by the Patient Experience staff which increased Veteran Satisfaction and Trust scores.

"These ratings highlight the excellent care VA Palo Alto health care provides,” said Jean J. Gurga, Medical Center Director, VA Palo Alto health care. “Our job is to continue raising the bar for customer service and convenience throughout the department, so VA Palo Alto health care 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 August 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 Laura C. Hutcheson at Laura.Hutcheson@va.gov, or .