King’s Daughters’ Medical Center
An acute care hospital in Ashland, Kentucky 41101
2201 Lexington Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101. (606) 408-4401.
- Medicare payments cut under the HAC Reduction Program (fiscal year 2026)
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The short answer
Record last released by CMS on Oct 20, 2026.
- 3of 5 CMS’s overall rating
- 3of 5 patient survey rating
- 1 deficiency cited in the last three years
- 455 beds
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean3
- Star ratings
- CMS rates some kinds of place from 1 to 5 stars, more stars meaning better on CMS’s own measures for that kind: for a nursing home, its health inspections, staffing and quality measures. A rating is CMS’s summary of those measures; it doesn’t promise good care. Source: CMS, Care Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System.
- Inspection (survey)
- A visit by state inspectors, often unannounced, who check a place against the rules it must meet. For nursing homes and other places Medicare pays, CMS calls these visits surveys: a standard survey of a nursing home comes at least every 15 months, and a complaint survey whenever a complaint calls for one. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 488.308.
- Deficiency, citation, violation
- What inspectors write up when a place didn’t meet a rule: the rule, what they saw, and when. CMS calls it a deficiency; states may say citation or violation. It is the inspectors’ finding, not a court’s, and the place is usually asked for a plan to correct it. Source: CMS, statement of deficiencies (Form CMS-2567); each state’s licensing agency.
What did inspectors find?
The last inspection on record was on Jan 23, 2026: a complaint inspection.
1 deficiency cited in the last three years.
CMS, QCOR Hospital 2567 statements of deficiencies. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
When those deficiencies happened
1 deficiency in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Jan 2026. Most serious: Standard-level. The last 3 years, to Nov 5, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dec | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2025 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2026 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each deficiency, as cited
Rule titles as CMS’s inspectors cite them, set in sentence case.
CMS, QCOR Hospital 2567 statements of deficiencies. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Jan 23, 2026: complaint inspection1 deficiency
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Patient Rights: Care In Safe Setting
The inspectors’ words, 705 words
“PATIENT RIGHTS: CARE IN SAFE SETTING CFR(s): 482.13(c)(2) The patient has the right to receive care in a safe setting. This Standard is not met as evidenced by: 46710 Based on observation, interview, record review, and facility policy review, the facility failed to ensure the right of each patient to receive care in a safe setting for 1 of 12 sampled patients, Patient (P) 1. Observation on 01/22/2026 revealed Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) 1 failed to replace her isolation gown with a torn neck opening, allowing the gown to slip down to her elbows during a dressing change for Patient (P) 1, who was in contact and droplet precautions. The findings include: Review of the facility’s policy titled, “Isolation Procedures,” effective date 08/18/2025, revealed the purpose of the policy was to prevent the spread of communicable infectious disease among patients, healthcare workers, providers, and visitors. Further review revealed for patients requiring contact and droplet precautions, staff was to don (put on) all personal protective equipment (PPE). Review of P1’s “Face Sheet” revealed the hospital admitted the patient on 01/16/2026 as an emergency admission for a chief complaint of shortness of breath. Review of the facility’s document “Infectious Disease Consultation Report,” dated 01/17/2026, revealed Physician 1 listed P1’s diagnoses to include history of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Observation on 01/22/2026 at 1:20 PM revealed the facility had posted a “Contact/Droplet Precautions” sign on the door to P1’s room. Further review revealed the sign instructed staff to wear gown and gloves while in the room. Observation on 01/22/2026 at 1:23 PM revealed the facility posted an isolation precaution sign on the door of P1’s room. Further observation revealed the sign indicated that staff should don a gown, gloves, and a mask prior to entering the room. Observation on 01/26/2026 between 1:28 PM and 1:50 PM revealed Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) 1 continued to change P1’s wound dressings while the front of LPN1’s personal protective equipment (PPE) isolation gown fell down to her elbows, exposing the top half of her scrub shirt. During the observation period, LPN1 reached up to adjust her isolation gown, but failed to replace it, though the neck opening was torn and the gown fell back down immediately after LPN1 adjusted it. Continued observation revealed LPN1 kept a felt tip marker in the pocket of her scrub shirt. Per observation, three times during the dressing change, LPN1 reached under her PPE to retrieve the marker, marked the date on a dressing, and replaced the marker in her scrub shirt pocket. In an interview on 01/22/2026 at 1:50 PM, LPN1 stated she was not concerned when her PPE gown slipped off her shoulders during the dressing change. She further stated P1 was in droplet precautions, however, he/she was not coughing during the dressing change. During the interview, LPN1 demonstrated how she accessed P1’s medical record. Observation revealed a banner under P1’s photo showing the facility was to maintain contact and droplet precautions for P1. Per interview, LPN1 stated during the dressing change, she was not thinking about how reaching under her gown or allowing the gown to fall down were breaks in infection control. In an interview on 01/23/2026 at 10:16 AM, Nurse Leader (NL) 4, the manager of the unit where P1 was admitted, stated her expectations were for all staff to adhere to isolation precautions per policy. She further stated LPN1 should have changed her isolation gown when it fell down to her elbows while performing P1’s wound care. In continued interview, NL4 stated LPN1 should not have reached under her gown for the marker. In an interview on 01/23/2026, the Director of Infection Prevention stated her expectations regarding isolation precautions were for staff to adhere to the signage and to ensure their PPE remained intact to prevent the spread of infection from the nurse’s clothing. She further stated LPN1 should have thrown away the marker she used to write on P1’s dressings. In an interview on 01/23/2026 at 1:29 PM, the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) stated the facility had a robust framework for safety, including infection control. He further stated he expected staff to follow the policies and wear appropriate PPE to prevent the spread of infections.”
All 5 inspections in the last three years
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Complaint inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Dec 3, 2025 | Complaint inspection | No deficiencies cited |
| Dec 2, 2025 | Complaint inspection | No deficiencies cited |
| Sep 13, 2024 | Complaint inspection | No deficiencies cited |
| Sep 12, 2024 | Complaint inspection | No deficiencies cited |
How do patients fare?
- CMS’s overall CMS rates some kinds of place from 1 to 5 stars, more stars meaning better on CMS’s own measures for that kind: for a nursing home, its health inspections, staffing and quality measures. A rating is CMS’s summary of those measures; it doesn’t promise good care. Source: CMS, Care Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System. for it is 3 of 5.
- Of the measures behind its CMS rates some kinds of place from 1 to 5 stars, more stars meaning better on CMS’s own measures for that kind: for a nursing home, its health inspections, staffing and quality measures. A rating is CMS’s summary of those measures; it doesn’t promise good care. Source: CMS, Care Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System., CMS counts against the national value: mortality, 1 better and 0 worse of 8; safety of care, 1 better and 0 worse of 7; readmission, 0 better and 1 worse of 11.
- Patients rate it 3 of 5 in CMS’s patient survey (443 surveys completed, Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025): 67% rated it 9 or 10 out of 10, and 67% would definitely recommend it.
- Infections, compared by CMS with the national benchmark (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025): central line bloodstream infections (CLABSI), no different than national benchmark; catheter urinary tract infections (CAUTI), no different than national benchmark; surgical site infections after colon surgery, no different than national benchmark; MRSA bloodstream infections, no different than national benchmark; C. diff infections, better than the national benchmark.
- CMS’s patient safety composite for serious complications, PSI 90, Jul 1, 2022 to Jun 30, 2024: no different than the national value.
- Deaths within 30 days, as CMS gives them (Jul 1, 2022 to Jun 30, 2025): heart attack 13.4%, heart failure 11.5%, pneumonia 12.1%, COPD 8.7%, stroke 12.8%, heart bypass surgery 1.7%. CMS gives no comparison with the national rate for them in this release.
- Readmissions within 30 days, as CMS gives them (Jul 1, 2023 to Jun 30, 2025): heart attack 13.6%, heart failure 21.8%, pneumonia 19.1%, COPD 22.1%, heart bypass surgery 9.4%. CMS gives no comparison with the national rate for them in this release.
- After outpatient care, compared by CMS: unplanned hospital visits after a colonoscopy, no different than the national rate; hospital admissions after outpatient chemotherapy, no different than the national rate; emergency visits after outpatient chemotherapy, no different than the national rate; unplanned hospital visits after outpatient surgery, no different than expected.
- Emergency department patients spent a median of 232 minutes there before leaving (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025), and 1% left before being seen.
- 77% of patients with severe sepsis or septic shock got the care CMS measures, SEP-1 (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025).
- Medicare’s spending per patient here is 1 times the national median (Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024).
CMS, Hospital General Information, Patient survey (HCAHPS) - Hospital, Healthcare Associated Infections - Hospital, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital and Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary - Hospital. Released Aug 13, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, Complications and Deaths - Hospital and Unplanned Hospital Visits - Hospital. Released Sep 30, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Measure | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall ratingCMS’s overall hospital quality star rating, 1 to 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Patient survey ratingCMS star rating from its survey of the hospital’s patients (HCAHPS), 1 to 5 | 3 of 5 |
Is it certified, and in good standing?
- Medicare-certified acute care hospital since Jul 1, 1966.
- Ownership: voluntary non-profit - private.
- It is accredited by The Joint Commission, whose surveys stand in for the state’s routine inspections.
- No For hospices, home health agencies, hospitals and dialysis facilities, CMS writes deficiencies at two levels. Standard is the usual one; condition-level is the more serious, when a problem is serious enough that the provider doesn’t meet a whole condition of taking part in Medicare. Source: CMS, State Operations Manual. deficiency on record in the last three years.
- It has an inpatient rehabilitation unit of 14 beds, which CMS lists apart as a rehabilitation facility.
- Voluntary non-profit - Private.
CMS, Provider of Services File - Hospital & Non-Hospital Facilities. Released Oct 14, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, Hospital General Information. Released Aug 13, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, QCOR Hospital 2567 statements of deficiencies. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Has it been penalized?
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for hospitals.
- CMS cut its Medicare payments by 1% for fiscal year 2026 under the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, which does so for the quarter of hospitals that fare worst on conditions patients get in hospital.
- 1 deficiency cited in the last three years came from an inspection that included a complaint investigation.
CMS, Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program. Released Aug 13, 2026. Updated yearly.
CMS, Provider of Services File - Hospital & Non-Hospital Facilities. Released Oct 14, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, QCOR Hospital 2567 statements of deficiencies. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
| Date | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Medicare payment reduction (HAC Reduction Program) | Fiscal year 2026: 1% of Medicare payments |
What do patients say about their care?
- CMS doesn’t publish staffing levels for hospitals.
- In CMS’s patient survey, patients rate how well its nurses communicated 3 of 5.
- 76% of its health care workers got a flu shot (Oct 1, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025).
CMS, Patient survey (HCAHPS) - Hospital and Timely and Effective Care - Hospital. Released Aug 13, 2026. Updated quarterly.
Who owns it?
- Royal Blue Health, LLC owns 100% directly since Apr 1, 2021.
- 16 owners or officers are people: Mark D Birdwhistell (corporate director); John Stewart (corporate director); Laurie B. Stewart (runs it (operational or managerial control), 0%); Thomas Burnette (corporate director); Steven E Clifton (corporate director); April Perry (corporate director, 0%); Penny Cox (corporate director); Craig C Collins (corporate director); Stephen Addington (corporate director); Eric N Monday (corporate director); Sara Marks (corporate officer); Sara Marks (corporate director); Sara Marks (managing employee (on the payroll)); Sara Marks (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Robert S Dipaola (corporate director); Gina Dugas (corporate director).
- CMS’s Provider of Services file records no change of ownership.
- No private-equity firm among the owners CMS lists.
- No real-estate investment trust among the owners CMS lists.
CMS, Hospital All Owners and Hospital Enrollments. Released Sep 29, 2026. Updated monthly.
CMS, Provider of Services File - Hospital & Non-Hospital Facilities. Released Oct 14, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Organisation | Role | Share | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond Blue Corporation | Owns 5% or more through other companies | 100% | Apr 1, 2021 |
| Royal Blue Health, LLC | Owns 5% or more directly | 100% | Apr 1, 2021 |
| University of Kentucky | Owns 5% or more through other companies | 100% | Dec 1, 2022 |
How does it compare nearby?
- No other hospital CMS lists is in Boyd County.
CMS, Hospital General Information. Released Aug 13, 2026. Updated quarterly.
What the record doesn’t say
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for hospitals, so none are shown. The one payment cut CMS publishes for each hospital, under its Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, is shown where it applies.
- Only complaints that led to a citation appear; complaints that didn’t aren’t published.
- Most hospitals are accredited by a private organisation (The Joint Commission, DNV and others) whose routine inspections stand in for the state’s; those reports aren’t public, and QCOR holds only the state’s surveys: no inspection on record here doesn’t mean none took place.
- QCOR says its hospital inspection data are complete only through September 17, 2026, while it moves to a new system.
- CMS doesn’t publish staffing levels for hospitals.
- In its September 2026 release CMS gives no comparison with the national rate for death and readmission rates, though it gives the rates.
Sources
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information (xubh-q36u).
Released Aug 13, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Patient survey (HCAHPS) - Hospital.
Released Aug 13, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Healthcare Associated Infections - Hospital (77hc-ibv8).
Released Aug 13, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Complications and Deaths - Hospital (ynj2-r877).
Released Sep 30, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Unplanned Hospital Visits - Hospital (632h-zaca).
Released Sep 30, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (yv7e-xc69).
Released Aug 13, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary - Hospital (rrqw-56er).
Released Aug 13, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program (yq43-i98g).
Released Aug 13, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated yearly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Provider of Services File - Hospital & Non-Hospital Facilities (Hospital_and_other.DATA.Q3_2026.csv).
Released Oct 14, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, QCOR Hospital 2567 statements of deficiencies (Hospital_2567s_2010_to_2026YTD.xlsx).
Released Oct 20, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 2026. Updated monthly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital All Owners (Hospital_All_Owners_2026.09.29.csv).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated monthly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital Enrollments (Hospital_Enrollments_2026.09.29.csv).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated monthly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: CMS. CMS’s own record is on Care Compare. If Hearth Record copied something wrongly, it will fix it and log the correction publicly, with its date: how corrections work.
This copy of the record was made on Nov 5, 2026.
From the hospital
The public record above comes first. Anything the hospital adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.
Replies
None. Replies aren’t open yet. When they open, the hospital will be able to answer any finding for free, and the reply will show beside that finding, unedited and dated.
Paid listing
None. Paid listings aren’t open yet. When they open, anything paid for will say “Paid by the hospital”, and paying will never change a finding, a rating or the order of results.