CMS certification 010056
St Vincent's Birmingham
810 St Vincent's Drive, Birmingham, AL 35205
St Vincent's Birmingham has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 70% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 4 h 3 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min).
Every figure on this page is published by CMS; we arrange and explain it, and score nothing ourselves.
What patients said
Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 1,657 completed surveys, 21% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
Emergency department
How long emergency patients spent here and how some time-critical care went, from CMS's timely and effective care measures, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
| Measure | This hospital | AL | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 336 visits sampled | 4 h 3 min | 2 h 29 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 11 visits sampled | 7 h 21 min | 3 h 32 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 196 patients | 56% | 64% | 65% |
How St Vincent's Birmingham compares with nearby hospitals
The closest hospitals of the same kind that CMS rates or surveys - the same city first, then the same county and ZIP area. Every figure is CMS's: the overall star rating, the share of patients who would definitely recommend the hospital, the median time emergency patients spent before leaving, and how many death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS found better or worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | CMS stars | Would recommend | ER median time | Vs the nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Vincent's BirminghamThis hospital | 3/5 | 70% | 4 h 3 min | 2 better 2 worse |
| Baptist Health Brookwood HospitalSame city | 3/5 | 57% | 2 h 38 min | 3 better |
| Princeton Baptist Medical CenterSame city | 3/5 | 62% | 2 h 44 min | 5 better 1 worse |
| Birmingham VA Medical CenterSame city | 4/5 | 73% | — | 2 better |
| University of Alabama HospitalSame city | 2/5 | 78% | 3 h 31 min | 4 better 4 worse |
| St. Vincent's EastSame city | 3/5 | 69% | 2 h 38 min | 2 better 2 worse |
Hospitals differ in size and in how sick their patients are. CMS adjusts its outcome measures for that, but a star or a percentage is a starting point for questions, not a verdict. All hospitals in Birmingham.
Deaths
How many patients died within 30 days of admission, adjusted by CMS for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| All patients, hospital-wide 3,827 cases | Too few cases | 3.6% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 98 cases | Too few cases | 10.9% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 292 cases | Too few cases | 8.8% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 349 cases | Too few cases | 16.5% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 254 cases | Too few cases | 10.5% | 11.9% |
| COPD 66 cases | Too few cases | 6.6% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 60 cases | Too few cases | 2.2% | 2.4% |
Complications
How often patients had serious complications, most of them after surgery, adjusted for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2024.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 0.74 likely 0.42 – 1.06 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 85 cases | Too few cases | 4.4% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 79 cases | No different | 140.17 per 1,000 likely 85.47 per 1,000 – 194.87 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 4,063 cases | No different | 0.19 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.93 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 4,838 cases | No different | 0.17 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.38 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 4,939 cases | No different | 0.23 per 1,000 likely 0.03 per 1,000 – 0.42 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 1,295 cases | No different | 1.9 per 1,000 likely 0.44 per 1,000 – 3.36 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 754 cases | No different | 1.32 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.87 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 765 cases | No different | 9.2 per 1,000 likely 3.29 per 1,000 – 15.11 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,341 cases | No different | 3.24 per 1,000 likely 1.13 per 1,000 – 5.36 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 629 cases | No different | 3.32 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 6.77 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 319 cases | No different | 1.63 per 1,000 likely 0.16 per 1,000 – 3.11 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 917 cases | No different | 0.85 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.83 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
Infections caught in the hospital
Standardized infection ratio: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one. Lower is better. Data from Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 1.33 likely 0.79 – 2.11 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.42 likely 0.2 – 0.8 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.64 likely 0.24 – 1.43 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | No different | 0 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.56 likely 0.23 – 1.16 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.31 likely 0.18 – 0.51 | 1 |
Readmissions and return visits
How often patients had to come back to a hospital after going home. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2023 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 181 cases | Too few cases | 15.4% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 604 cases | Too few cases | 22.8% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 552 cases | Too few cases | 19.1% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 180 cases | Too few cases | 19.4% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 91 cases | Too few cases | 12.5% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 92 cases | Too few cases | 5.3% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 107 cases | Too few cases | 4.8 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 347 cases | Too few cases | 39.3 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 375 cases | Too few cases | 62.1 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 1,027 cases | No different | 11.5 per 1,000 likely 8.8 per 1,000 – 15.3 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 330 cases | No different | 0.8 likely 0.6 – 1.1 | — |
3 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Money from drug and device companies
Drug and device makers have to report what they pay teaching hospitals to CMS's Open Payments program. At many teaching hospitals most of it is research funding, or royalties for inventions the hospital licensed to a company. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.
- 2019 $98,338
- 2020 $10,913
- 2021 $3,227
- 2022 $126,532
- 2023 $214,612
- 2024 $146,558
- 2025 $122,158
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Debt forgiveness | $1,760 | 1 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $1,553 | 2 |
| Space rental and facility fees | $599 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation | $118,247 | 4 |
| Baxter Healthcare | $1,760 | 1 |
| Linvatec Corporation | $853 | 1 |
| Organon LLC | $700 | 1 |
| Abbott Laboratories | $599 | 1 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Effect of Inclisiran on Preventing Major Adverse Cardiovascular Even… Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation | $76,360 |
| Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Multicenter Trial, Assessing the Impact of Inclisiran on Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Partici… Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation | $41,887 |
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026. Full record on CMS Open Payments.
How to read this page
- Everything here is published by CMS on Care Compare. We arrange it and explain it; the star ratings and the better / worse verdicts are CMS's, not ours.
- “No different” is the most common result on most measures at most hospitals. CMS only calls a result better or worse when the difference from the national rate is statistically clear.
- Death, complication and readmission rates are adjusted by CMS for how sick patients were, so hospitals that treat sicker patients can be compared fairly.
- Infection results are ratios: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one, below 1.0 is fewer.
- These are hospital-wide results. They do not rate an individual doctor, nurse or department, and they are not medical advice.
CMS Care Compare data retrieved 4 Oct 2026, refreshed weekly. Where this data comes from and how we handle it · Report an error
Common questions about St Vincent's Birmingham
Is St Vincent's Birmingham a good hospital?
St Vincent's Birmingham has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend St Vincent's Birmingham?
70% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,657 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the St Vincent's Birmingham emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 4 h 3 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does St Vincent's Birmingham receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $122,158 in payments to St Vincent's Birmingham for 2025, most of it research funding, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.