HELEN KELLER HOSPITAL
1300 SOUTH MONTGOMERY AVENUE, SHEFFIELD, AL 35660
Worth a closer look before you decide
These figures come straight from CMS. They are flags to ask about, not a verdict — read the full detail below.
2★ care at below-average cost — needs review
Score = 60% quality + 40% relative cost within category
Hospital details
- Type
- Acute Care Hospitals
- Ownership
- Government - Hospital District or Authority
- Emergency services
- Yes
- EHR meaningful use
- —
National comparison
Procedures & outcomes
For a planned procedure — how often this hospital performs it and how patients fared
Procedure volume
How often this hospital performs each procedure for Medicare patients (most recent year reported). Higher volume generally means more experience.
- Major joint replacement (hip/knee)14 Medicare discharges/yr (2021)
Outcome rates
For each measure below, lower is better. “vs national” compares this hospital to the U.S. average.
Mortality
- Heart failure — 30-day death rate▼ Worse than national18.5%national 11.6% · based on 230 cases
Share of heart-failure patients who died within 30 days of admission.
- Heart attack — 30-day death rateNot availableNot reported by CMS
Share of heart-attack patients who died within 30 days of admission.
- Pneumonia — 30-day death rate▼ Worse than national18.7%national 16% · based on 228 cases
Share of pneumonia patients who died within 30 days of admission.
- COPD — 30-day death rate~ Similar to national8.6%national 8.9% · based on 149 cases
Share of COPD patients who died within 30 days of admission.
- Stroke — 30-day death rate~ Similar to national13.3%national 13.4% · based on 48 cases
Share of stroke patients who died within 30 days of admission.
- Heart bypass (CABG) — 30-day death rateNot availableNot reported by CMS
Share of coronary-bypass patients who died within 30 days of surgery.
Complications & readmissions
- Hip/knee replacement — complication rate▼ Worse than national4.5%national 3.6% · based on 33 cases
Share of hip- or knee-replacement patients with a serious complication after surgery. Matters most for a planned joint replacement.
Safety
- Patient-safety composite (PSI-90)▲ Better than national0.93national 1.00
A composite of avoidable harms (bedsores, falls, surgical problems). 1.0 is the national baseline; lower is safer.
Infections
- Central-line bloodstream infections▲ Better than national0.00national 1.00
Bloodstream infections from central IV lines, vs. the number expected.
- Catheter urinary-tract infections▲ Better than national0.26national 1.00
Urinary infections from catheters, vs. the number expected.
- Surgical-site infections (colon surgery)▼ Worse than national2.18national 1.00
Infections after colon surgery, vs. the number expected.
- MRSA bloodstream infections▲ Better than national0.00national 1.00
Antibiotic-resistant staph (MRSA) blood infections, vs. expected.
- C. diff intestinal infections▲ Better than national0.60national 1.00
Clostridioides difficile gut infections, vs. the number expected.
Financial context (from HCRIS)
Cross-referenced from this hospital's Medicare cost report
For full financial detail — charity care, payer mix, multi-year trends — see the HCRIS link below.
What to look for
Which numbers matter most when choosing — in plain language
- For a planned procedure, volume matters: hospitals that do a procedure often tend to have better results. Check the discharge counts below.
- Complication and 30-day death rates show how patients actually fared — lower is better, and "vs national" tells you how this hospital compares.
- Infection rates (the SIR figures) flag how well the hospital prevents hospital-acquired infections; 1.0 is the national baseline.
- The overall star rating is a useful summary, but the specific measure that matches your reason for going matters more.
Questions to ask
Bring these to a tour, call, or appointment
Questions to ask — HELEN KELLER HOSPITAL
Hospital · checklist from CareLens (CMS Care Compare data)
- How many of this procedure do you perform each year, and what are your complication rates?
- What is your rate of hospital-acquired infections compared with the national average?
- Who will be the lead surgeon or physician, and how experienced are they with my case?
- What is the typical length of stay, and what does recovery look like?
- What happens if there is a complication — do you have the ICU and specialists on site?
- What will my out-of-pocket cost be, and is the hospital in my insurance network?
Related data
Explore this facility across other Healthparse brands
Source: CMS Care Compare · data current as of June 2025.