Shoals HospitalMuscle Shoals, AL
Shoals Hospital is a for-profit acute care hospital in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with an emergency department. As of the July 2026 CMS release, patients treated and sent home spend a median of 1 hr 43 min in its emergency department, 49 min shorter than the Alabama average of 2 hr 32 min.
- Time ZoneCST
- CountyColbert
- Emergency CapableYes
- FIPS1033
- Area Code256
Visiting Shoals Hospital
- Photo ID and your insurance, Medicare or Medicaid card
- A list of your medicines, doses and allergies
- Your doctor's name and phone number
- A phone charger
Quality and performance
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · data as of July 2026
Patients spend an average of 1 hour 43 minutes in the emergency department at Shoals Hospital. That is 49 minutes shorter than the Alabama average of 2 hours 32 minutes.
Source: CMS Hospital General Information and Timely & Effective Care. Wait times are a median over a past 12-month reporting period, not live data. Not affiliated with CMS or with Shoals Hospital. For a medical emergency, call 911.
Compare ER waits across Alabama · How we source this data · Something wrong on this page? Tell us
What patients say
CMS patient survey (HCAHPS) · 40 completed surveys · patients discharged Oct 2024 – Sep 2025
84% would definitely recommend it (U.S. average 71%). 81% rated it 9 or 10 out of 10.
The patient survey (HCAHPS) asks a random sample of adult patients about their recent hospital stay. CMS adjusts the results for the mix of patients and how the survey was done, so hospitals can be compared fairly. CMS gives a star rating only to hospitals with at least 100 completed surveys, so this hospital has answer percentages but no stars. These results come from fewer than 100 completed surveys, so CMS advises using them with caution. About the data.
Infections, complications and deaths
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · compared with hospitals nationwide
Shoals Hospital was no different from the national benchmark on the one hospital-acquired infection CMS could compare. Its rate of serious complications was same as national.
Hospital-acquired infections
Serious complications
Death rates within 30 days
| Patients treated for | This hospital | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital-wide, all conditions | 4.1% | 3.9% |
Risk-adjusted rates. CMS has not published a statistical better/worse comparison for these death rates in the current release, so small differences from the U.S. rate may be chance.
Other complications
None of the other safety indicators CMS compares was statistically better or worse than national.
All 3 complication measures
| Measure | This hospital | U.S. | CMS comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores)per 1,000 patients | 0.58 | 0.63 | Same as national |
| Falls in the hospital that caused a broken boneper 1,000 patients | 0.27 | 0.27 | Same as national |
| Collapsed lung caused by a medical procedureper 1,000 patients | 0.21 | 0.21 | Same as national |
"Better" or "worse" means CMS found the difference from the national benchmark statistically significant; most hospitals are "no different". Infection results compare the infections a hospital reported with the number predicted for a hospital of its size and type (a ratio below 1 means fewer than predicted), for Oct 2024 – Sep 2025. Death and complication rates are risk-adjusted for how sick patients were. Each death rate counts deaths within 30 days of a hospital stay, pooled over one to three years of Medicare patients depending on the measure. About the data.
Readmissions and return visits
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · Medicare patients
On the 1 readmission and return-visit measures CMS could compare, Shoals Hospital was no different from the national rate or its expected level.
Return trips after a stay or procedure
Readmission rates count Medicare patients who were admitted to any acute-care hospital within 30 days of leaving this one, adjusted for how sick they were. "Better" or "worse" means CMS found the difference from the national rate statistically significant; most hospitals are "no different". Return-day and outpatient-surgery measures compare the hospital with what CMS expected for its own patients. The Readmissions Reduction Program ratios are shown as CMS publishes them; whether a hospital's payments are reduced depends on how its ratios compare with similar hospitals, so a ratio above 1.00 alone doesn't mean a penalty. About the data.
Timely and effective care
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · all patients unless noted · Oct 2024 – Sep 2025
Shoals Hospital's emergency department is classed by CMS as low volume.
| Measure | This hospital | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Typical time in the ER before going homeMedian minutes from arrival to leaving, for ER patients sent home (not counting mental health patients or transfers). Lower is better. 348 patients. | 103 min | 162 min |
| Typical ER time for mental health patients sent homeMedian minutes from arrival to leaving. Lower is better. 24 patients. | 160 min | 257 min |
| Typical ER time for patients transferred to another facilityMedian minutes from arrival to leaving. Lower is better. 18 patients. | 234 min | 287 min |
| Patients who left the ER before being seenLower is better. 9,078 patients. | 1% | 2% |
| Health care workers vaccinated against fluHigher is better. 280 patients. | 62% | 78% |
| Discharged on two opioids, or an opioid and a benzodiazepinePatients sent home with prescriptions that raise the risk of overdose when combined. Lower is better. 194 patients. | 13% | 15% |
| Colonoscopy: right follow-up interval for average-risk patientsHigher is better. 73 patients. | 100% | 93% |
CMS publishes these process-of-care measures without a better/worse verdict, so the U.S. figure is shown for context; small differences, or results based on few patients, may not mean much. About the data.
Medicare spending and payment programs
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
The Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program cuts Medicare payments by 1% for the quarter of hospitals with the worst scores. The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program withholds a small share of every hospital's Medicare payments and pays it back according to the total performance score. A spending ratio of 1.00 equals the national median; spending reflects prices, the services patients received and care after discharge, not quality. Some hospitals, such as critical access, children's and cancer hospitals, are not part of these programs. About the data.
Inpatient psychiatric unit
CMS Inpatient psychiatric care Quality Reporting Program, data through March 2025 · unit CCN 010157
Shoals Hospital runs an inpatient psychiatric unit that reports its own results to Medicare. Follow-up within 7 days: 46% here, against 37% nationally. Where CMS compares facilities statistically, this one is no different from the national rate.
After discharge
During the stay
Source: CMS Inpatient psychiatric care Quality Reporting Program (Provider Data Catalog). Better/worse labels appear only where CMS itself compared the facility with the national rate; other figures are shown next to the national figure for context. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.
Inpatient rehabilitation unit
CMS Inpatient rehabilitation Quality Reporting Program, data through December 2025 · unit CCN 01T157
Shoals Hospital runs an inpatient rehabilitation unit that reports its own results to Medicare. Returned home or to the community: 65% here, against 67% nationally. Where CMS compares facilities statistically, this one is no different from the national rate.
Results
Safety
Cost
Source: CMS Inpatient rehabilitation Quality Reporting Program (Provider Data Catalog). Better/worse labels appear only where CMS itself compared the facility with the national rate; other figures are shown next to the national figure for context.
Doctors at Shoals Hospital
97 Medicare-enrolled doctors and other clinicians list this hospital as an affiliation, across 25 specialties.
Federal rules require hospitals to publish their prices, including the rates they've negotiated with each insurer and their cash prices. Shoals Hospital lists them here:
From the hospital's price transparency file (www.namcshoals.com/cms-hpt.txt), checked Oct 24, 2026. For an estimate of what you'll pay, ask the hospital or your insurer; Medicare's averages are on our procedure cost pages.
What Medicare paid at Shoals Hospital
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · original Medicare patients · 2024
Average hospital charges and actual payments for the procedures Medicare patients most often had here, compared with the average for Alabama.
Hospital stays
| Stay | Stays | Avg charge | Avg payment | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol, drug abuse or dependence without rehabilitation therapy without major complicationsDRG 897 | 21 | $16,848 | $8,136 | −2% |
Outpatient services
| Service | Services | Avg charge | Avg allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Intraocular ProceduresAPC 5491 | 108 | $10,607 | $1,907 |
| Level 3 Vascular ProceduresAPC 5183 | 25 | $19,073 | $2,204 |
| Comprehensive Observation ServicesAPC 8011 | 18 | $14,590 | $2,308 |
| Level 2 Excision/Biopsy/Incision and DrainageAPC 5072 | – | – | – |
| Level 3 Excision/Biopsy/Incision and DrainageAPC 5073 | – | – | – |
Charges are the hospital's list prices; payments are what Medicare, the patient and any other insurer actually paid (for outpatient services, Medicare's allowed amount). Private insurance prices differ. "vs state" compares this hospital's average payment with the state average for the same stay. All procedure costs.
Size and finances
Medicare cost report · fiscal year ending Mar 2025
As reported by the hospital to CMS; not audited. Operating margin is income from patient care divided by net patient revenue and leaves out investment income and donations. Compare Alabama hospital finances.
Who owns Shoals Hospital
Medicare enrollment and ownership records (PECOS)
Medicare lists the hospital's legal name as Rchp - Florence LLC, a for-profit organization, incorporated 2010.
163 doctors and other clinicians list Shoals Hospital as a hospital affiliation in Medicare's clinician directory.
Organizations with 5% or more ownership (directly or through other companies), partnership interests or operational control, as the hospital reported them to Medicare. Records can lag behind recent sales. Individuals are not listed. Who owns America's hospitals.
The area around Shoals Hospital
HRSA shortage designations and BLS pay data
Primary care: Parts of Colbert are federally designated health professional shortage areas (1 designation). Highest shortage score 17.
Mental health: Colbert is a federally designated health professional shortage area. Highest shortage score 12.
Nurse pay: registered nurses in Alabama earn a median $77,080 a year. Healthcare salaries in Alabama.
Shortage areas are designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration where there are too few primary care, mental health or dental providers for the population; scores run from 0 to 25 for primary and mental health care and 0 to 26 for dental care, higher meaning greater need. Alabama shortage areas
Find doctors in Muscle Shoals
Medicare-enrolled specialists with a practice in Muscle Shoals, with addresses, phone numbers and the hospitals they work with.
Care after a stay at Shoals Hospital
Medicare-certified providers near this hospital, with their CMS ratings. A hospital discharge planner can make the referral.
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Source: CMS Care Compare. Distances are approximate.