US Health Care Costs

Palo Alto County Hospital

3201 1st Street, Emmetsburg, IA 50536 · (712) 852-5500

Rural (critical access) hospitalGovernment - LocalEmergency room

Palo Alto County Hospital is a government-owned rural critical-access hospital in Emmetsburg, Iowa (Palo Alto County), with 24 beds. It has an emergency room. It lists $1.54 for every $1 its care costs, less than the typical Iowa hospital ($3.72).

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Not ratedCMS overall quality rating
$1.54listed for every $1 its care costs Iowa typical $3.72
1 h 43 mintypical ER visit US typical 2 h 28 min
24beds

Quality and patient experience

What patients say

84%would definitely recommend the hospital US typical 71%
89%rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10 US typical 72%

Rated by patients

    Emergency room and urgent care

    1 h 43 mintypical time in the ER before going home US typical 2 h 28 min
    0%left the ER without being seen US typical 1%

    ER volume: low.

    Deaths within 30 days of admission lower is better
    Pneumonia
    18.5%
    Back in the hospital within 30 days lower is better
    Pneumonia
    16.8%

    US typical hospital. Infection figures are a ratio: 1.00 means as many infections as expected for a hospital like this one. CMS adjusts these rates for how sick the patients are; a small gap from the typical hospital can be chance, so a verdict is shown only where CMS gives one.

    Source: CMS Care Compare, measurement periods ending up to September 2025.

    The money

    $65what care cost the hospital for every $100 it billed
    $5.6Mnet income, all sources
    4.9%margin on patient care alone
    $140,771cost of charity care (0.4% of costs)
    $1.1Munpaid bills written off (bad debt)
    157full-time staff (equivalent)

    From the hospital's Medicare cost report for the year ending June 2025.

    Cash and insurer prices for this hospital haven't been added yet. The hospital publishes them on its own price page.

    This hospital has no Medicare stay data for 2024. Medicare data covers mostly patients 65 and older, so psychiatric, children's and very small hospitals often don't appear.

    Nearby hospitals

    21 miles awayAvera Holy Family HospitalEstherville, IA★★★★★$2.48 listed per $1 of cost23 miles awaySpencer Municipal HospitalSpencer, IA★★★★★$2.64 listed per $1 of cost24 miles awayKossuth Regional Health CenterAlgona, IA★★★★★$1.70 listed per $1 of cost26 miles awayPocahontas Community HospitalPocahontas, IANot rated$1.53 listed per $1 of cost30 miles awayLakes Regional HealthcareSpirit Lake, IA★★★★★$2.17 listed per $1 of cost

    Compare with the two closest