The Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center announced that it received a 5-star rating in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating report.

This is the second year in a row that the medical center has received this designation.

CMS’ Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings are based on five categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. A higher star rating, out of 5, indicates better performance along these quality measures.

“Receiving a 5-star rating from CMS is a reflection of the dedication our entire team brings to caring for Veterans every day,” said Russell Lloyd, director of the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center. “This rating underscores our commitment to delivering safe, timely and high-quality care, and we are proud to contribute to VA’s continued nationwide excellence.”

This is the fourth consecutive year that VA has outperformed non-VA care, and the second year in a row that no VA hospital received a 1-star rating. This year’s CMS report is just one example of how VA is working better for veterans.

Among other improvements, VA has:

• Enrolled more than 125,000 new veterans in VA health care in 2026.

• Opened 35 new VA health care facilities since Jan. 20, 2025, expanding health care access for veterans around the country.

• Reduced the backlog of veterans waiting for VA benefits by 70% since Jan. 20, 2025, after it increased 24% during the prior four years.

• Completed 82,083,918 direct care appointments in fiscal year 2025, up 4.1% from fiscal year.

• Offered veterans more than 2.5 million appointments outside of normal operating hours, giving veterans more timely and convenient options for care.

• Permanently housed 51,936 homeless veterans across the country in fiscal year 2025, the highest in seven years.