Hospital record · FY2026CCN 110008

1Hospital

Northside Hospital Cherokee

2Location

Canton, GA (Georgia’s hospitals on the map and in the table) 30115

Cherokee County

3Type

Not a teaching hospital · 84 beds · Nonprofit · Urban

4Care Compare stars

4 of 5 stars

Overall rating, CMS Care Compare data of July 22, 2026
Open on Care Compare (opens in a new tab)

5Total HAC Score

0.8118

As CMS reports it

6Payment reduction

1% cut

CMS’s value: Yes

7Estimated cut

$681K estimate

Likely $555⁠–⁠740K; about $152 per traditional Medicare stay

Cut 1%

$681K

cut from its FY2026 Medicare inpatient payments, this site estimates estimate

For fiscal year 2026, CMS reports a Total HAC Score of 0.8118 for Northside Hospital Cherokee and a payment reduction decision of Yes.

That is 1% of about $68.1M, this site’s estimate of what traditional Medicare pays it for inpatient stays in a year: about $152 per traditional Medicare stay.

Likely range $555–740K

Its score was above CMS’s line, so CMS cut its Medicare inpatient payments by 1% for the year. The score compares hospitals with each other; it is not a grade of the quality of care.

CMS cut scores of 0.3799 and above.

Each year CMS cuts the hospitals with the highest quarter of scores, those above the 75th percentile, so the line moves with other hospitals’ scores.

Higher than 90% of the other 2,928 scores CMS published (higher is worse).

Its record, fiscal years 2015 to 2026 Cut in 5 of 11 years

15No
16No
17No
18Cut
19No
20No
21No
22Cut
23—
24Cut
25Cut
26Cut

Where the score came from

CMS scored this hospital on all 6 measures. On every measure a lower value is better. Each row puts the hospital among every hospital with a value: the gray columns are those hospitals, the tall tick is the national median, and the hatched ends score the same as CMS’s floor or cap.

Bringing SSI down to the national median (0.795) would lower the score the most: by 0.3777, to 0.4341. Try it in the what-if

Figure 1. Of its 6 measures with a value, this hospital is above the national median on 5; SSI added the most to its score.

This hospital
National median
Scores the same as CMS’s floor or cap

PSI 90 (what it counts)
Safety problems such as serious bedsores, falls that break a bone and blood clots after surgery, found by CMS in traditional Medicare claims. A value of 1 matches the national composite value.
Patient safety and adverse events composite
Worse than 93% of the other 2,808 hospitals
estimate

This site recomputes this measure’s z‑score from CMS’s published value. The recompute can differ from CMS’s z‑score by up to 0.0021. How this site estimates

CMS value1.2851

Z-score2.0705

Part of score+0.3451
CLABSI (what it counts)
Bloodstream infections tied to a central line, a tube often placed in a large vein in the neck, chest or groin. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.
Central line–associated bloodstream infections
Worse than 59% of the other 2,181 hospitals

CMS value0.662

Z-score0.1292

Part of score+0.0215
CAUTI (what it counts)
Urinary tract infections that start from a urinary catheter, a tube that drains the bladder. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections
Worse than 72% of the other 2,354 hospitals

CMS value0.734

Z-score0.4507

Part of score+0.0751
SSI (what it counts)
Deep infections at the site of colon surgery or an abdominal hysterectomy, within a month of the operation, pooled into one measure. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.
added the most
Surgical site infections after colon surgery or abdominal hysterectomy
Worse than 96% of the other 2,269 hospitals

CMS value2.269

Z-score2.1717

Part of score+0.3620
CDI (what it counts)
C. diff infections, which cause diarrhea and inflammation of the colon, found by a lab test and starting in the hospital. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.
Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections
Worse than 82% of the other 2,766 hospitals
estimate

This site recomputes this measure’s z‑score from CMS’s published value. The recompute can differ from CMS’s z‑score by up to 0.0071. How this site estimates

CMS value0.617

Z-score0.9269

Part of score+0.1545
MRSA (what it counts)
Bloodstream infections with MRSA, a germ that resists several antibiotics, found by a lab test and starting in the hospital. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.
MRSA bloodstream infections
Better than 80% of the other 2,067 hospitals

CMS value0.277

Z-score−0.8784

Part of score−0.1464

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table

Measure	CMS value	National median	Z-score	Part of the score	Among hospitals
PSI 90	1.2851	0.9623	2.0705	+0.3451	Worse than 93% of the other 2,808 hospitals
CLABSI	0.662	0.559	0.1292	+0.0215	Worse than 59% of the other 2,181 hospitals
CAUTI	0.734	0.489	0.4507	+0.0751	Worse than 72% of the other 2,354 hospitals
SSI	2.269	0.795	2.1717	+0.3620	Worse than 96% of the other 2,269 hospitals
CDI	0.617	0.346	0.9269	+0.1545	Worse than 82% of the other 2,766 hospitals
MRSA	0.277	0.641	−0.8784	−0.1464	Better than 80% of the other 2,067 hospitals

How the parts add up

CMS adds the z‑scores and divides by the number of measures scored, so each measure counts the same. Each bar below is one z‑score divided by 6; a bar right of zero raised the score and one left of zero lowered it.

(2.0705PSI 90+0.1292CLABSI+0.4507CAUTI+2.1717SSI+0.9269CDI−0.8784MRSA)÷6measures=0.8118Total HAC Score

This hospital’s score is 0.4326 above 0.3792, the highest score CMS marked No. (This site recomputes.)

Figure 2. The parts add up to 0.8118, above CMS’s line.

This site recomputes · Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table

Measure	Z-score	Part of the score	Running total
PSI 90	2.0705	+0.3451	0.3451
CLABSI	0.1292	+0.0215	0.3666
CAUTI	0.4507	+0.0751	0.4417
SSI	2.1717	+0.3620	0.8037
CDI	0.9269	+0.1545	0.9582
MRSA	−0.8784	−0.1464	0.8118
Total HAC Score			0.8118
CMS’s line		0.3792	0.3799

The money is a cliff

This program’s cut doesn’t grow with the score. Over CMS’s line, CMS cuts 1% of what traditional Medicare pays a hospital for inpatient stays that year; at or under the line, this program cuts nothing.

The chart draws what the cut would be for this hospital at any Total HAC Score, from this site’s estimate of its payments, with its own score marked.

Figure 3. The cut is a cliff, not a slope: this hospital’s score, 0.4326 over the highest score CMS didn’t cut, costs it about $681K by this site’s estimate, and at CMS’s highest score, 2.3133, the cut would be the same.

Under the axis, every Total HAC Score CMS published: 306 of the 2,929 scored within 0.1 of CMS’s line, on one side or the other.

Estimate · Source: this site’s arithmetic on CMS’s FY2026 IPPS final rule files (the impact file, the rate tables and the value-based factors), its FY2026 HRRP supplemental file and HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table

Score	Total HAC Score	Estimated HAC cut (whole dollars)
Any score up to 0.3792	0.3792	$0
Any score from 0.3799	0.3799	−$681,152
This hospital	0.8118	−$681,152
CMS’s highest score	2.3133	−$681,152

The money, line by line

This site estimates what traditional Medicare pays the hospital for a year of inpatient stays, from CMS’s FY2026 payment files, then applies Medicare’s three hospital quality programs: the readmissions and value-based adjustments to the base payment, and the HAC cut last, as the law sets.

The readmissions and value-based programs adjust only the base payment: the DRG rates times the hospital’s cases, and a Medicare-dependent hospital’s add-on. The HAC cut comes last and takes 1% of everything left, teaching, low-income-patient, outlier, capital and uncompensated care payments included.

($67,800,494payment−$169,597readmissions+$484,275value-based)×1%the cut=$681,152HAC cut

$681,152HAC cut÷4,467traditional Medicare stays=$152per traditional Medicare stay

Figure 4. This site estimates the HAC cut at $681K: 1% of the hospital’s whole inpatient payment, taken last. The readmissions and value-based adjustments, on the base alone, came to −$170K and +$484K.

Estimated Medicare inpatient payments · FY2026 estimate

What traditional Medicare pays it for inpatient stays
DRG payments at the federal rates the base	$51,393,025
Many low-income patients (disproportionate share)	$587,422
Outliers: unusually costly stays	$2,027,969
Capital: buildings and equipment	$4,297,218
Uncompensated care	$9,494,860
Total, before the three programs	$67,800,494
The three programs: two on the base, the HAC cut last
Readmissions (HRRP) base × (0.9967 − 1)	−$169,597
Value-based purchasing (HVBP) base × (1.0094 − 1)	+$484,275
After these two	$68,115,172
HAC Reduction Program 1% of everything above; likely $555⁠–⁠740K	−$681,152
Net of the three programs likely −$401K to −$317K	−$366,474

Not paid to this hospital: a Medicare-dependent hospital add-on, teaching payments, a sole community hospital rate difference, and a low-volume adjustment.

Whole dollars, so every line adds up; the estimate is not that precise. Each likely range spans the middle 80% of the misses this site’s estimate made for similar hospitals (or for a wider group, where there were too few) when it was checked against their FY2024 cost reports: one year’s check, not a promise of how often a hospital’s actual figure lands inside.

Show table

Line	Amount (whole dollars)
DRG payments at the federal rates (the base)	$51,393,025
Many low-income patients (disproportionate share)	$587,422
Outliers: unusually costly stays	$2,027,969
Capital: buildings and equipment	$4,297,218
Uncompensated care	$9,494,860
Total, before the three programs	$67,800,494
Readmissions (HRRP) (base × (0.9967 − 1))	−$169,597
Value-based purchasing (HVBP) (base × (1.0094 − 1))	+$484,275
After these two	$68,115,172
HAC Reduction Program (1% of everything above; likely $555–740K)	−$681,152
Net of the three programs (likely −$401K to −$317K)	−$366,474

What if a measure were different?

Change a measure’s value to see how this site recomputes the Total HAC Score, the payment reduction decision and, by its estimate, the money, starting from CMS’s values. The money doesn’t slide with the score: it drops off a cliff at CMS’s line.

The what-if needs JavaScript. Without it, the values below stay as they are.

Show table

	CMS reports	Hypothetical
Total HAC Score	0.8118	same
Payment reduction decision	Yes	same
Payment cut	1%	same
Estimated HAC cut estimate	$681K	same

CMS’s line: between 0.3792 and 0.3799

The faint ticks are CMS’s line in earlier years under the same formula, from about 0.300 (FY2022) to about 0.375 (FY2024). The line moves every year, so a hospital can cross it without changing anything.

CMS reports a Total HAC Score of 0.8118 and a payment reduction decision of Yes.

A what-if shows the formula’s arithmetic, not what a hospital could realistically change or how. CMS’s real result also depends on other hospitals.

What would it take?

Getting under CMS’s line would keep about $681K, this site estimates: the whole cut, however far under the score lands.

From CMS’s values, one measure at a time, with every other measure held at CMS’s value.

Measure	Value that would read No
PSI 90	0.9131 or lower
CLABSI	not possible with this measure alone
CAUTI	not possible with this measure alone
SSI	0.602 or lower
CDI	not possible with this measure alone
MRSA	not possible with this measure alone

Each measure weighs 1 ÷ 6 of the score.

Measure values

SIR 1.0 = as many infections as predicted · Lower is better

On each track the tick is the national median; shaded values score the same as the floor or cap, as this site fits them to CMS’s values.

Patient safety and adverse events composite PSI 90

PSI 90 value

CMS 1.2851 · median 0.9623 · floor 0.7760 · cap 1.3482 · each 0.1 = 0.1164

Central line–associated bloodstream infections CLABSI

CLABSI value

CMS 0.662 · median 0.559 · cap 1.572 · each 0.1 = 0.0387

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections CAUTI

CAUTI value

CMS 0.734 · median 0.489 · cap 1.537 · each 0.1 = 0.0402

Surgical site infections after colon surgery or abdominal hysterectomy SSI

SSI value

CMS 2.269 · median 0.795 · cap 2.118 · each 0.1 = 0.0286

Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections CDI

CDI value

CMS 0.617 · median 0.346 · cap 0.944 · each 0.1 = 0.0645

MRSA bloodstream infections MRSA

MRSA value

CMS 0.277 · median 0.641 · cap 1.762 · each 0.1 = 0.0348

Have your NHSN predicted counts? (optional, stays in your browser)

Stays in your browser; never sent.

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for CLABSI, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for CAUTI, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for SSI, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for CDI, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for MRSA, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Figure 5. SSI added the most to this hospital’s Total HAC Score of 0.8118 among its measured results: +0.3620.

PSI 90 +0.3451
CLABSI +0.0215
CAUTI +0.0751
SSI +0.3620
CDI +0.1545
MRSA −0.1464

A measure adds its z‑score divided by 6, the number of measures scored. Bars right of the center line raise the score. Hatched: assigned by CMS.

This site recomputes · Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table

Measure	Z-score	Part of the score	Hypothetical
PSI 90	2.0705	+0.3451	same
CLABSI	0.1292	+0.0215	same
CAUTI	0.4507	+0.0751	same
SSI	2.1717	+0.3620	same
CDI	0.9269	+0.1545	same
MRSA	−0.8784	−0.1464	same

Interactive what-if at https://paidandpenalized.org/hacrp/hospital/110008/

Among hospitals with a Yes or No payment decision, CMS cut those with a published Total HAC Score of 0.3799 or higher and none at 0.3792 or lower. Maryland’s hospitals are scored but not subject to the reduction.

Held fixed: every other hospital’s results, CMS’s line, and each measure’s mean, spread, floor and cap as this site fits them to CMS’s published values.

Year by year

Where this hospital’s score fell among every hospital’s, each year CMS published one. A score near the top is among the highest; the shaded band is where CMS cut. Places compare across years even where CMS changed how it builds the score.

Its longest run: cut 3 years in a row.

Figure 6. CMS cut this hospital in 5 of the 11 years it made a decision.

● Red: a year CMS cut it ○ Hollow: a year it didn’t

This site recomputes · Source: CMS, HACRP hospital files for fiscal years 2015 to 2026 (Provider Data Catalog, its archives and, for the oldest years, the Internet Archive’s copies), and CMS’s cut lists for FY2015 and FY2016.

Show table

Fiscal year	Total HAC Score	Higher than this share of scores	Payment reduction
FY2015	5.1000	45.3%	not cut
FY2016	3.7500	19.6%	not cut
FY2017	5.4500	51.4%	not cut
FY2018	0.5261	82.8%	cut
FY2019	0.0501	55.9%	not cut
FY2020	0.0116	53.5%	not cut
FY2021	0.2543	70.6%	not cut
FY2022	0.3428	77.2%	cut
FY2023			no decision
FY2024	0.4068	76.4%	cut
FY2025	0.5648	84.0%	cut
FY2026	0.8118	90.3%	cut

Its infections, year by year

This hospital’s infection rate against prediction for each calendar year Care Compare published one, on each measure with at least two years of results (black), over the nation’s middle hospital (gray). Below the dashed line at one, fewer infections than predicted. Each year is measured against the same fixed baseline, not against other hospitals, so unlike the score they can all improve at once.

Figure 7. 2 of its 6 infection measures ended lower than they started.

Source: CMS Care Compare, healthcare-associated infections by hospital, calendar years 2017 to 2024 (Provider Data Catalog archives; the oldest year through the Internet Archive’s copy).

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Calendar year	CLABSI	CAUTI	SSI, colon	SSI, hysterectomy	MRSA	C. diff
2017	0.229	0.370	0.566	1.589	1.300	0.607
2018	0.695	0.567	0.522	0.996	0.000	0.460
2019	0.209	0.749	1.105	0.681	1.546	0.441
2021	0.556	0.853	1.889	0.582	1.215	0.444
2022	1.376	0.506	0.995	0.492	0.764	0.626
2023	0.283	1.015	1.471	2.039	0.406	0.786
2024	0.993	0.472	2.686	3.673	0.170	0.418

Among hospitals like it

Each row is a group this hospital belongs to, drawn from every hospital in it with a payment decision. Red columns are hospitals past CMS’s line, the ones CMS cut; the short tick is the group’s middle score.

In Georgia, its score is higher than 88% of the other 88 scored there.

In Marietta, GA area, its score is higher than 100% of the other 4 scored there.

Figure 8. Its score is above the middle in all 8 groups it belongs to; the share cut runs from 20% (Marietta, GA area) to 30% (Georgia).

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

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Group	With a decision	Hospitals cut	Share cut	Middle score	Hospital higher than
All hospitals	2,886	718	25%	−0.0453	90%
South region	1,174	263	22%	−0.1056	90%
Georgia	89	27	30%	0.0932	88%
Marietta, GA area	5	1	20%	−0.0488	100%
Not teaching	1,563	389	25%	−0.1053	88%
Fewer than 100 beds	805	225	28%	−0.1154	82%
Nonprofit	1,830	478	26%	−0.0134	90%
Urban	2,241	510	23%	−0.0574	92%
This hospital				0.8118
CMS’s line				0.3792	0.3799

The nearest hospitals

The 8 closest hospitals with a Total HAC Score, in a straight line. The squares are each hospital’s measures in order: filled, above the national median; open, at or below it; hatched, assigned by CMS; blank, not scored.

Figure 9. CMS cut 3 of the 8 nearest hospitals; the closest is 14 miles away.

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table

Hospital	Miles	Score	Decision
Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, Roswell, GA	14	0.4267	cut
Piedmont Mountainside Hospital Inc, Jasper, GA	15	−0.3292	not cut
Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center, Marietta, GA	19	−0.0488	not cut
Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Cartersville, GA	19	−0.5605	not cut
Emory Johns Creek Hospital, Johns Creek, GA	20	0.3325	not cut
Northside Hospital Forsyth, Cumming, GA	21	0.4465	cut
Northside Hospital, Atlanta, GA	23	1.0106	cut
Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta, Inc, Atlanta, GA	23	0.0417	not cut

#	Hospital	Miles	Score	Decision	Est. cut ($, modeled)	Measures
1	Wellstar North Fulton Medical CenterRoswell, GA	14	0.4267	1% cut	$333K	Above the national median on 3 of 6 measures
2	Piedmont Mountainside Hospital IncJasper, GA	15	−0.3292	No cut	$0	Above the national median on 2 of 6 measures
3	Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical CenterMarietta, GA	19	−0.0488	No cut	$0	Above the national median on 4 of 6 measures
4	Piedmont Cartersville Medical CenterCartersville, GA	19	−0.5605	No cut	$0	Above the national median on 1 of 6 measures
5	Emory Johns Creek HospitalJohns Creek, GA	20	0.3325	No cut	$0	Above the national median on 3 of 6 measures
6	Northside Hospital ForsythCumming, GA	21	0.4465	1% cut	$630K	Above the national median on 5 of 6 measures
7	Northside HospitalAtlanta, GA	23	1.0106	1% cut	$983K	Above the national median on 6 of 6 measures
8	Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta, IncAtlanta, GA	23	0.0417	No cut	$0	Above the national median on 3 of 6 measures

Download all hospitals’ data (CSV) · Data dictionary · CMS’s dataset page

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A penalty reflects how CMS’s formula scored relative performance; it is not a verdict on the quality of care.

Cite this page

Paid & Penalized. Northside Hospital Cherokee, Canton, GA: Hospital-Acquired Conditions, FY2026. https://paidandpenalized.org/hacrp/hospital/110008/. Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.