Salisbury VA receives high 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, Salisbury VA has instituted a number of improvements to better serve Veterans. These include:

• Launched targeted mitigation efforts to enhance Veteran access to care: tighter integration of Primary Care and Mental Health and reforms in clinic scheduling.
• Coordinated across 30+ federal/state agencies and grantees through “One Team” meetings and case conferences to combat Veteran homelessness and suicide; increased Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) voucher utilization to 94%, with 83% of Veterans successfully housed.
• Introduced “Voice of the Veteran” Veteran Experience review platform into VA safety huddles to standardize delivery of real-time Veteran feedback from Charlotte, Kernersville, and Salisbury to VA staff on a weekly basis.

"These ratings highlight the excellent care the entire VA team provides,” said Charles D. Collins, acting executive director of the Salisbury VA Health Care System. “Our job is to continue raising the bar for customer service and convenience throughout the department, so Salisbury VA 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 the Salisbury VA Office of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs via email at salisburyvapublicaffairs@va.gov.

At the Salisbury VA Health Care System, our mission is to fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.

Learn more about the Salisbury VA Health Care System at https://www.va.gov/salisbury-health-care/.

Kevin Stapleton, Chief Communications Officer

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