US Health Care Costs

Penn Highlands Elk

763 Johnsonburg Road, Saint Marys, PA 15857 · (814) 788-8000

Rural (critical access) hospitalVoluntary non-profit - PrivateEmergency room

Penn Highlands Elk is a non-profit rural critical-access hospital in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania (Elk County), with 25 beds. It has an emergency room and holds 4 of 5 stars in CMS's overall quality rating. In CMS's patient survey it scores 4 of 5 stars, and 59% of patients said they would definitely recommend it. It lists $4.54 for every $1 its care costs, less than the typical Pennsylvania hospital ($5.26).

On this page:QualityThe moneyNearby hospitals

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★★★★★CMS overall quality rating
★★★★★patients' own rating (222 surveys)
$4.54listed for every $1 its care costs Pennsylvania typical $5.26
3 h 8 mintypical ER visit US typical 2 h 28 min
25beds

Quality and patient experience

What patients say

★★★★★4 of 5 · 222 surveys

59%would definitely recommend the hospital US typical 71%
65%rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10 US typical 72%

Rated by patients

  • Nurses communicated well★★★★★
  • Doctors communicated well★★★★★
  • Staff explained medicines★★★★★
  • Information for going home★★★★★
  • Room was clean★★★★★
  • Quiet at night★★★★★

Emergency room and urgent care

3 h 8 mintypical time in the ER before going home US typical 2 h 28 min
3%left the ER without being seen US typical 1%
62%of sepsis patients got the recommended care US typical 65%

ER volume: low.

Deaths within 30 days of admission lower is better
Heart failure
12.8%
Pneumonia
15.3%
Stroke
12.5%
COPD
8.2%
Back in the hospital within 30 days lower is better
Heart failure
21.6%
Pneumonia
16.8%
Infections and complications lower is better
Catheter urinary tract infections
0.00
≈ Same as US

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

$22what care cost the hospital for every $100 it billed
$7.3Mnet income, all sources
6.1%margin on patient care alone
$421,035cost of charity care (0.8% of costs)
$3.5Munpaid bills written off (bad debt)
224full-time staff (equivalent)

From the hospital's Medicare cost report for the year ending June 2025. Non-profit hospitals must have a financial assistance (charity care) policy; ask for it if a bill is hard to pay.

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

18 miles awayUpmc KaneKane, PANot rated$3.65 listed per $1 of cost18 miles awayUpmc KaneKane, PANot rated24 miles awayPenn Highlands DuboisDubois, PA★★★★★$4.10 listed per $1 of cost33 miles awayPenn Highlands BrookvilleBrookville, PA★★★★★$3.93 listed per $1 of cost39 miles awayUpmc ColeCoudersport, PA★★★★★$2.33 listed per $1 of cost

Compare with the two closest