Hospital rankings
Hospitals in North Dakota with the lowest hospital-acquired condition score
6 North Dakota hospitals ranked by hospital-acquired condition score in the 2026 Medicare (CMS) data. Leading: Essentia Health, Sanford Medical Center Fargo, Trinity Hospitals. Filter by type, ownership and size, choose the measures you care about, and sort by any column.
| # | Hospital | Hospital-acquired condition scorelower is better | Net Medicare quality adjustmenthigher is better | Readmissions penaltyhigher is better | Value-based purchasing scorehigher is better | Value-based purchasing adjustmenthigher is better | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National average | 0.00 | −0.48% | −0.34% | 31 | +0.13% | ||
| 1 | Essentia Health | −0.51, 80th percentile | −0.48%, 47th percentile | −0.15%, 54th percentile | 24, 31st percentile | −0.33%, 31st percentile | Compare Essentia Health |
| 2 | Sanford Medical Center Fargo | −0.31, 69th percentile | +0.12%, 77th percentile | −0.03%, 73rd percentile | 31, 57th percentile | +0.15%, 56th percentile | Compare Sanford Medical Center Fargo |
| 3 | Trinity Hospitals | −0.30, 68th percentile | +0.62%, 87th percentile | −0.05%, 69th percentile | 39, 77th percentile | +0.67%, 77th percentile | Compare Trinity Hospitals |
| 4 | Sanford Medical Center Bismarck | −0.17, 59th percentile | +1.11%, 94th percentile | −0.14%, 55th percentile | 47, 91st percentile | +1.25%, 91st percentile | Compare Sanford Medical Center Bismarck |
| 5 | Altru Hospital | −0.08, 52nd percentile | −1.22%, 21st percentile | 0.00%, 89th percentile | 11, 2nd percentile | −1.22%, 2nd percentile | Compare Altru Hospital |
| 6 | CHI St Alexius Health | +0.81, 10th percentile | −1.28%, 20th percentile | −0.01%, 77th percentile | 25, 34th percentile | −0.27%, 34th percentile | Compare CHI St Alexius Health |
About these rankings
Rankings use the 2026 release of CMS Care Compare data. Hospitals share a rank (“T”) when their values are equal, and only hospitals with a reported value for the sorted measure are ranked. Shading compares each value with every hospital in the country, so it doesn’t change with your filters. Small differences are often not statistically meaningful; use the methodology and glossary for context.
- Hospital-acquired condition score
- Total score in the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, from patient safety events and infections (weighted z-scores; 0 is about average, higher is worse). Medicare cuts payments 1% for the worst-scoring quarter of hospitals..
- Net Medicare quality adjustment
- Approximate combined change to the hospital's Medicare inpatient payments from the three pay-for-performance programs, added together: the readmissions penalty, the value-based purchasing bonus or penalty, and the 1% cut for hospital-acquired conditions. Inpatient prospective payment system hospitals only; Maryland hospitals are exempt..
- Readmissions penalty
- Change to Medicare payments under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, which cuts payments (by up to 3%) to hospitals with more readmissions than expected. 0% means no penalty..
- Value-based purchasing score
- Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Total Performance Score (0-100), from outcomes, safety, patient experience and efficiency. It sets a Medicare bonus or penalty..
- Value-based purchasing adjustment
- Change to Medicare payments under Hospital Value-Based Purchasing: a bonus (positive) or penalty (negative, up to 2%) based on the Total Performance Score..