- Time ZoneMST
- CountyPrairie
- Emergency CapableYes
- FIPS30079
- Area Code406
Quality and performance
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · data as of July 2026
Patients spend an average of 1 hour 24 minutes in the emergency department at Prairie Community Hospital. That is 36 minutes shorter than the Montana average of 2 hours.
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 Prairie Community Hospital. For a medical emergency, call 911.
Compare ER waits across Montana · Other Critical Access hospitals in Montana · How we source this data · Something wrong on this page? Tell us
Timely and effective care
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · all patients unless noted · Oct 2024 – Sep 2025
Prairie Community 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. 236 patients. | 84 min | 162 min |
| Patients who left the ER before being seenLower is better. 236 patients. | 1% | 2% |
| Health care workers vaccinated against fluHigher is better. 47 patients. | 66% | 78% |
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.
Size and finances
Medicare cost report · fiscal year ending Jun 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 Montana hospital finances.
Who owns Prairie Community Hospital
Medicare enrollment and ownership records (PECOS)
Medicare lists the hospital's legal name as Prairie County Hospital District, a non-profit organization.
5 doctors and other clinicians list Prairie Community 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 Prairie Community Hospital
HRSA shortage designations and BLS pay data
Primary care: Prairie is a federally designated health professional shortage area. Highest shortage score 15.
Mental health: Prairie is a federally designated health professional shortage area. Highest shortage score 18.
Nurse pay: registered nurses in Montana earn a median $85,280 a year. Healthcare salaries in Montana.
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. Montana shortage areas