facebook tracking Bay Medical Center, Panama City, FL: ER Visit 2h 56m

Bay Medical Center, Panama City, FL

615 N Bonita Ave, Panama City, FL 32401Bay County

Acute care hospital 149 beds (Medicare cost report FY2025) Emergency room

Independent directory · data from CMS, not from this hospital

Bay Medical Center is a non-profit acute care hospital in Panama City, Florida, with an emergency department. According to HospitalsInEachState.com's analysis of the July 2026 CMS release, patients treated and sent home spend a median of 2 hr 56 min in its emergency department, 21 min longer than the average across Florida hospitals (2 hr 35 min). Medicare rates it 3 out of 5 stars overall, and patients give it 3 out of 5 in the Medicare patient survey.

Visiting Bay Medical Center

Address 615 N Bonita Ave
Panama City, FL 32401
County: Bay
Directions Apple Maps Call (850) 769-1511
Emergency room Yes. For patients treated and sent home, the median ER visit here lasts 2 hr 56 min (average across FL hospitals: 2 hr 35 min). Medicare's median time in the ER for patients treated and sent home; not a live wait. ER times across FL
What to bring
  • 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
Visiting hours and parking vary: call ahead.

Official links: Website for Bay Medical Center (opens the hospital's site)

Quick answers about Bay Medical Center

How long is the ER wait at Bay Medical Center?

CMS doesn't publish live wait times. Over the 12 months CMS reported, patients treated and sent home spent a median of 2 hr 56 min in the Bay Medical Center emergency room (the average across Florida hospitals is 2 hr 35 min). For tonight's wait, check the hospital's website (opens the hospital's own site) or call (850) 769-1511. In an emergency, call 911.

What is the phone number for Bay Medical Center?

The main phone number for Bay Medical Center is (850) 769-1511, from Medicare's hospital records.

Call (850) 769-1511
What is the address of Bay Medical Center?

Bay Medical Center is at 615 N Bonita Ave, Panama City, FL 32401.

Directions (opens Google Maps)
Does Bay Medical Center have an emergency room?

Yes. Bay Medical Center has an emergency department, according to Medicare data.

What is Bay Medical Center's Medicare star rating?

Bay Medical Center has an overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Star ratings come from CMS quality and safety measures, not patient reviews.

Quality and performance

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · data as of July 2026

Patients treated and sent home from the emergency department at Bay Medical Center spend a median of 2 hours 56 minutes there. That is 21 minutes longer than the average across Florida hospitals (2 hours 35 minutes).

CMS rating ★★★★★ 3/5
Type Acute Care
Ownership Non-profit

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 Bay Medical Center. For a medical emergency, call 911.

Compare ER waits across Florida · How Florida hospitals rank on star ratings · How we source this data · Something wrong on this page? Tell us

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What patients say

CMS patient survey (HCAHPS) · 482 completed surveys · patients discharged Oct 2024 – Sep 2025

Patients gave Bay Medical Center a 3-star patient experience rating out of 5. 72% would definitely recommend it (U.S. average 71%). 69% rated it 9 or 10 out of 10.

Patient star rating ★★★★★ 3 out of 5
Would definitely recommend 72% U.S. 71% · FL 69%
Rated 9 or 10 of 10 69% U.S. 72% · FL 68%
Survey response rate 18% of patients surveyed
Nurse communicationDid nurses treat you with courtesy and respect, listen carefully and explain things clearly?
★★★★★
75% always · 6% sometimes or never · U.S. 80% always
Doctor communicationDid doctors treat you with courtesy and respect, listen carefully and explain things clearly?
★★★★★
76% always · 7% sometimes or never · U.S. 80% always
Communication about medicinesBefore giving you a new medicine, did staff tell you what it was for and its possible side effects?
★★★★★
56% always · 26% sometimes or never · U.S. 62% always
Discharge informationDid staff talk with you about help you would need at home and symptoms to watch for?
★★★★★
85% yes · 15% no · U.S. 86% yes
CleanlinessHow often were your room and bathroom kept clean?
★★★★★
66% always · 16% sometimes or never · U.S. 74% always
Quiet at nightHow often was the area around your room quiet at night?
★★★★★
55% always · 13% sometimes or never · U.S. 60% always
Overall hospital ratingUsing any number from 0 to 10, what number would you use to rate this hospital?
★★★★★
69% 9 or 10 · 10% 6 or lower · U.S. 72% 9 or 10
Would recommendWould you recommend this hospital to your friends and family?
★★★★★
72% definitely yes · 7% no · U.S. 71% definitely yes

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. About the data.

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Infections, complications and deaths

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · compared with hospitals nationwide

Of the 5 hospital-acquired infections CMS could compare, Bay Medical Center was better than the national benchmark on 1 and worse on 0. Its rate of serious complications was same as national.

Hospital-acquired infections

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI)Bloodstream infections in patients with a central IV line, in ICUs and select wards.
Same as national 0 infections vs 2.8 predicted · ratio 0.00
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI)Urinary tract infections in patients with a urinary catheter, in ICUs and select wards.
Same as national 4 infections vs 5.1 predicted · ratio 0.79
Surgical site infections after colon surgeryInfections at the surgery site after colon surgery.
Same as national 0 infections vs 2.3 predicted · ratio 0.00
MRSA bloodstream infectionsBloodstream infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a drug-resistant bacteria.
Same as national 3 infections vs 2.5 predicted · ratio 1.20
C. diff intestinal infectionsClostridioides difficile infections, a bacteria that causes severe diarrhea, often after antibiotics.
Better than national 4 infections vs 24.7 predicted · ratio 0.16

Serious complications

Serious complications (CMS PSI 90)Combines patient safety problems such as falls with fractures, bed sores, collapsed lungs, blood clots and infections after surgery. 1.00 is the national value; lower is better.
Same as national Ratio 1.10

Death rates within 30 days

Patients treated forThis hospitalU.S.
Heart attack patients 12.9% 11.9%
Heart failure patients 11.6% 11.1%
Pneumonia patients 12.8% 15.2%
Stroke patients 16.3% 11.9%
COPD patients 8.0% 8.6%
Coronary bypass (CABG) surgery patients 3.1% 2.4%
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 11 complication measures
MeasureThis hospitalU.S.CMS comparison
Deaths among surgical patients with serious treatable complicationsper 1,000 patients 190.7 173.3 Same as national
Pressure ulcers (bed sores)per 1,000 patients 0.55 0.63 Same as national
Falls in the hospital that caused a broken boneper 1,000 patients 0.28 0.27 Same as national
Collapsed lung caused by a medical procedureper 1,000 patients 0.22 0.21 Same as national
Bleeding or blood clot under the skin after surgeryper 1,000 patients 2.09 2.34 Same as national
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgeryper 1,000 patients 1.88 1.67 Same as national
Respiratory failure after surgeryper 1,000 patients 14.72 9.42 Same as national
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgeryper 1,000 patients 2.56 3.52 Same as national
Bloodstream infection (sepsis) after surgeryper 1,000 patients 5.86 5.27 Same as national
Surgical wound splitting openper 1,000 patients 1.69 1.77 Same as national
Accidental cuts or tears during abdominal surgeryper 1,000 patients 0.93 1.06 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 · Jul 2023 – Jun 2025

On the 1 readmission and return-visit measures CMS could compare, Bay Medical Center was no different from the national rate or its expected level.

Back in the hospital within 30 days

After a stay forThis hospitalU.S.CMS comparison
Heart attack 14.3% 14.4% Not compared
Heart failure 22.4% 21.3% Not compared
Pneumonia 18.2% 17.3% Not compared
COPD (chronic lung disease) 20.4% 20% Not compared
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 10.1% 11% Not compared

Return trips after a stay or procedure

Extra days back in hospital after heart attackDays spent back in the ER, under observation or readmitted within 30 days, per 100 discharges, compared with what was expected.
Not compared -15.1 days per 100 discharges vs expected · U.S. +4.2
Extra days back in hospital after heart failureDays spent back in the ER, under observation or readmitted within 30 days, per 100 discharges, compared with what was expected.
Not compared +3.4 days per 100 discharges vs expected · U.S. +1.3
Extra days back in hospital after pneumoniaDays spent back in the ER, under observation or readmitted within 30 days, per 100 discharges, compared with what was expected.
Not compared +8.4 days per 100 discharges vs expected · U.S. +3.9
Hospital visits after outpatient surgeryUnplanned visits within 7 days of same-day surgery, as a ratio to the number expected (1.00 = expected).
As expected 1.00 1.00 = expected · U.S. 1.00

Medicare's readmission program

Excess readmission ratio: this hospital's predicted readmissions divided by the number expected for a typical hospital with the same patients. Above 1.00 means more readmissions than expected. 3 of 5 conditions are above 1.00.

ConditionRatioPatientsReadmissions
Heart bypass surgery 1.020 – More than expected
Heart attack 1.009 171 More than expected
COPD 1.004 68 More than expected
Pneumonia 0.992 329 Fewer than expected
Heart failure 0.970 318 Fewer than expected

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

MeasureThis hospitalU.S.*
Sepsis: got all recommended early treatmentPatients with severe sepsis or septic shock who received every step of the recommended early care bundle. Higher is better. 226 patients. 58% 65%
Septic shock: full treatment within 3 hoursHigher is better. 59 patients. 69% 73%
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. 389 patients. 176 min 162 min
Typical ER time for mental health patients sent homeMedian minutes from arrival to leaving. Lower is better. 23 patients. 256 min 257 min
Health care workers vaccinated against fluHigher is better. 1,376 patients. 91% 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. 671 patients. 18% 15%
Blood clot prevention givenHigher is better. 1,245 patients. 95% 90%*
Blood clot prevention given in intensive careHigher is better. 526 patients. 97% 97%*
Stroke: discharged on clot-prevention medicineHigher is better. 59 patients. 93% 98%*

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. *Median of all hospitals CMS reports, where CMS publishes no national figure. About the data.

Medicare spending and payment programs

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Hospital-acquired conditions · FY 2026
No penalty
Not in the worst-performing quarter on infections and patient-safety problems. 719 of 3,012 hospitals were penalized.
Medicare spending per patient
1.08
8% more than the national median per hospital stay (about $29,610 vs $27,417), counting Medicare spending from 3 days before admission to 30 days after discharge.

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.

Care after a stay at Bay Medical Center

Medicare-certified providers near this hospital, with their CMS ratings. A hospital discharge planner can make the referral.

Skilled nursing facilities nearby

Skilled nursing ratings and inspections at Nursing Homes In Each State

Dialysis centers nearby See more

Home health agencies nearby See more

Hospice care providers nearby See more

Source: CMS Care Compare. Distances are approximate.

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Doctors at Bay Medical Center

257 Medicare-enrolled doctors and other clinicians list this hospital as an affiliation, across 28 specialties.

See all 257 clinicians

Find doctors in Panama City

Medicare-enrolled specialists with a practice in Panama City, with addresses, phone numbers and the hospitals they work with.

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What Medicare paid at Bay Medical Center

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 Florida.

Hospital stays

Outpatient services

ServiceServicesAvg billedAvg allowed
Level 1 Endovascular ProceduresAPC 5191 352 $29,375 $2,944
Comprehensive Observation ServicesAPC 8011 223 $21,036 $2,440
Level 3 Electrophysiologic ProceduresAPC 5213 142 $197,852 $21,180
Level 3 Endovascular ProceduresAPC 5193 106 $69,426 $9,957
Level 2 Excision/Biopsy/Incision and DrainageAPC 5072 96 $14,884 $1,469

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 Jun 2025

Beds
149
Reported to Medicare, FY2025
Employees
768
Full-time equivalent
Discharges
9,492
Inpatient stays a year
Patient revenue
$241.8 million
Net of discounts
Operating margin
-2.7%
On patient care
Charity care
$19.1 million
7.7% of expenses
Bad debt
$30.6 million
Unpaid patient bills

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 Florida hospital finances.

Who owns Bay Medical Center

Medicare enrollment and ownership records (PECOS)

Medicare lists the hospital's legal name as Bay County Health System LLC, a non-profit organization.

Sacred Heart Health System Inc Operational or managerial control · since 2020 Non-profit
Sacred Heart Health System Inc Owns 5% or more directly · 100% · since 2020 Non-profit

575 doctors and other clinicians list Bay Medical Center 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 Bay Medical Center

HRSA shortage designations and BLS pay data

Primary care: Parts of Bay are federally designated health professional shortage areas (1 designation). Highest shortage score 8.

Mental health: Bay is a federally designated health professional shortage area. Highest shortage score 15.

Dental: Parts of Bay are federally designated health professional shortage areas (1 designation). Highest shortage score 15.

Nurse pay: registered nurses in Florida earn a median $84,190 a year. Healthcare salaries in Florida.

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. Florida shortage areas

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Cite this data

Writing about Bay Medical Center? You're welcome to quote these figures. They are free to use under CC BY 4.0: please credit HospitalsInEachState.com and link to this page.

Figures as of the July 2026 CMS release Updated automatically when CMS publishes new data Permanent link: hospitalsineachstate.com/hospitals/florida/panama-city/bay-medical-center/615-n-bonita-ave/

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