The U.S. Virgin Islands' two principal hospitals have received low overall quality ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center on St. Croix receiving one star and the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas receiving two stars on a five-star scale.
The ratings appear in federal hospital quality data released August 13, 2026, and reflect the government's assessment of hospital performance across measures including patient mortality, safety of care, hospital readmissions, patient experience, and timely and effective treatment. Both facilities are among the Medicare-certified hospitals evaluated under the national program.
The federal agency assigns hospitals between one and five stars, with five representing the highest overall performance on the measures evaluated. The ratings are intended to help patients compare hospital quality using standardized information collected through Medicare reporting programs.
Of the 3,203 hospitals nationwide that received an overall rating in the April 2026 assessment, 204, or approximately 6.4 percent, received one star. Another 670 hospitals, or 20.9 percent, received two stars.
The overall star ratings are calculated annually from available quality measures, rather than from a single inspection. The 2026 ratings were calculated using information from the October 2025 federal hospital reporting update, with individual measures covering different periods.
Juan F. Luis Hospital Receives One-Star Rating
The Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital, identified in federal records under Medicare certification number 480002, received one star in the overall quality assessment.
A closer examination of its federal data shows that the hospital reported results for four of the eight mortality measures included in the program. Of those four measures, one was classified as worse than the national value, while three were not statistically different from national results. None was classified as better.
The hospital also reported results for three of the 11 measures concerning readmissions and other unplanned hospital visits. One was worse than the national value, while two showed no statistically significant difference.
The federal dataset does not provide comparable safety-of-care results for Juan F. Luis Hospital during this reporting period. CMS identifies that information as unavailable rather than assigning the hospital a favorable or unfavorable result for those measures.
The hospital had data for 10 of the 15 patient-experience measures included in the overall rating methodology and one of the 10 timely and effective care measures. However, a separate summary star rating based on patient surveys was not available in the August federal release.
The distinction is important because the overall hospital rating and the patient-survey rating are different assessments. The absence of a patient-survey star rating does not mean that the hospital received a failing score on that measure.
Schneider Hospital Receives Two Stars
The Roy Lester Schneider Hospital, which provides acute-care services to residents of St. Thomas, St. John and surrounding communities, received an overall rating of two stars. The facility is identified in the federal database under Medicare certification number 480001.
Schneider reported results for four mortality measures. As with Juan F. Luis Hospital, one measure was worse than the national value and three were not statistically different from national results.
Its readmission results showed a greater number of measures falling below national performance. Of the five readmission measures reported, two were classified as worse than the national value, while three showed no statistically significant difference. None was rated better.
In the safety-of-care category, Schneider reported two measures, one of which performed better than the national value. The other showed no statistically significant difference. Neither was classified as worse.
The hospital also reported four timely and effective care measures. Federal data for the patient-experience measure group were unavailable for Schneider in the overall rating dataset, and a separate patient-survey summary star rating was not published for the reporting period.
The missing data limit direct comparisons between the two hospitals across individual categories. CMS calculates its overall ratings using the measures available for each institution and groups hospitals according to the breadth of information they report.
Ratings Separate From Hospital Accreditation
The federal quality ratings are distinct from hospital accreditation, which involves a different evaluation process.
In January, Schneider Regional Medical Center announced that it had earned full accreditation from the Joint Commission following a review of its clinical services, patient safety practices and operational systems.
The Consortium reported at the time that hospital officials described the accreditation as confirmation that the facility met national healthcare standards despite workforce shortages, patient volumes and other operational pressures.
The two-star CMS rating does not invalidate that accreditation. The federal rating uses reported performance measures collected over specified periods, while Joint Commission accreditation evaluates an organization's compliance with applicable healthcare standards.
The federal assessments also do not represent findings that either hospital violated Medicare's conditions of participation or faces an immediate threat to its certification.
Ratings Come Amid Hospital Rebuilding and Operational Challenges
The federal figures emerge while both hospitals are managing major redevelopment initiatives and longstanding operational pressures.
At Juan F. Luis Hospital, officials are preparing for demolition and reconstruction of the main hospital building following the transition of medical services to temporary and supporting facilities. The Consortium reported in September that redevelopment officials had reduced the planned replacement hospital from eight stories to five, while maintaining that the redesign would not eliminate services.
Schneider Regional Medical Center is also undergoing a federally supported rebuilding effort. In August, the Public Finance Authority approved a contract with Suffolk Construction carrying a ceiling of more than $207 million for the initial phases of the hospital's reconstruction.
Both hospitals have also faced financial and staffing challenges. During legislative proceedings earlier this year, Schneider officials described shortages of medical personnel, delayed government allotments, patients occupying hospital beds while awaiting other placements, and difficulties maintaining adequate capacity.
At Juan F. Luis Hospital, employees have previously raised concerns involving staffing, medical supplies and working conditions, while hospital officials have continued efforts to strengthen services during the transition to replacement facilities.
The CMS ratings do not establish that those particular circumstances caused the hospitals' results. The measures cover earlier reporting periods and do not necessarily reflect changes made since the information was collected.
The federal data nevertheless provide a measurable benchmark for both hospitals as their administrators pursue improvements in clinical services, staffing, infrastructure and patient care. The individual performance categories also identify areas that hospital officials can examine against national results as the territory continues its healthcare redevelopment efforts.
