Wilmington VA Medical Center 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, Wilmington VA has instituted a number of improvements to better serve Veterans: 

• Increased Access to Care: Provided record levels of outpatient, emergency, and inpatient services, while bringing specialty care closer to where Veterans live. To include expanded radiology, medical and surgical services, and the launch of a mobile prosthetics and orthotics clinic serving southern New Jersey and Delaware.
• Improved Clinical Outcomes: Achieved an 18% reduction in congestive heart failure readmissions through enhanced case management, and decreased mortality rates in pulmonary disease, heart failure, and pneumonia.
• Elevated Patient Experience: Strengthened trust and satisfaction among Veterans through improved communication, coordination of care, and responsiveness.
• Commitment to High Reliability: Advanced our culture of safety by actively working toward becoming a High Reliability Organization, ensuring safety and accountability are central to everything we do.
• Better Timely and Effective Care: Improved performance across the board in timely access to care and delivery of evidence-based treatments.

"These ratings highlight the excellent care Wilmington VA provides,” said Wilmington VA executive director, Vamsee Potluri. “Our job is to continue raising the bar for customer service and convenience throughout the department, so Wilmington VA works better for the Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors we are honored to serve.” 

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.

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.

Valerie Harwood, Public Affairs Officer

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