CMS certification 020012
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital
1650 Cowles Street, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 68% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 21 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 3. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 52 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: 445 completed surveys, 14% 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. CMS classes this emergency department's patient volume as medium; busier departments tend to have longer times, so the national median for departments of the same volume is shown too. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
| Measure | This hospital | AK | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 335 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 2 h 52 min | 2 h 16 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 45 visits sampled | 4 h 5 min | 3 h 18 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 36,824 patients | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 20 patients | 70% | 62% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 181 patients | 57% | 61% | 65% |
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 726 cases | Too few cases | 4.1% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 71 cases | Too few cases | 11.6% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 130 cases | Too few cases | 15.7% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 178 cases | Too few cases | 18.7% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 82 cases | Too few cases | 9.1% | 11.9% |
| COPD 74 cases | Too few cases | 12% | 8.6% |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
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 | 0.97 likely 0.53 – 1.4 | 1 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 1,516 cases | No different | 0.36 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.38 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 2,517 cases | No different | 0.36 per 1,000 likely 0.14 per 1,000 – 0.58 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 2,481 cases | No different | 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.46 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 423 cases | No different | 2.72 per 1,000 likely 1.07 per 1,000 – 4.37 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 131 cases | No different | 1.58 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.27 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 130 cases | No different | 7.89 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 17.23 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 429 cases | No different | 4.3 per 1,000 likely 1.87 per 1,000 – 6.74 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 118 cases | No different | 5.75 per 1,000 likely 1.56 per 1,000 – 9.94 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 98 cases | No different | 2.35 per 1,000 likely 0.85 per 1,000 – 3.84 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 327 cases | No different | 1.24 per 1,000 likely 0.19 per 1,000 – 2.29 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
2 more measures had too few cases here to report.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 1.88 likely 0.48 – 5.11 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | No different | 0.59 likely 0.28 – 1.13 | 1 |
3 more measures had too few cases here to report.
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 55 cases | Too few cases | 14.9% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 109 cases | Too few cases | 21.4% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 162 cases | Too few cases | 17.3% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 59 cases | Too few cases | 18.7% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 81 cases | Too few cases | 43.3 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 155 cases | Too few cases | -24.5 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 205 cases | Too few cases | -16 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 1,711 cases | No different | 13.8 per 1,000 likely 10.7 per 1,000 – 18 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 42 cases | No different | 9.9 per 100 likely 6.5 per 100 – 15.1 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 42 cases | No different | 5 per 100 likely 3.1 per 100 – 8.1 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 338 cases | Worse | 1.4 likely 1.1 – 1.8 | — |
3 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
130 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry. The same address can take in offices and clinics in the building, and a listing does not prove admitting privileges or current employment.
| Specialty | Clinicians |
|---|---|
| Pharmacist | 13 |
| Emergency Medical Services | 10 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 10 |
| Anesthesiology | 9 |
| Internal Medicine | 8 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 7 |
| Physician Assistant | 7 |
| Pediatrics | 6 |
| Obstetrics & Gynecology | 5 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health | 5 |
| Family | 4 |
| Medical | 4 |
First 12 alphabetically
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 Fairbanks Memorial Hospital
Is Fairbanks Memorial Hospital a good hospital?
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 21 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 3. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Fairbanks Memorial Hospital?
68% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 445 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 52 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with medium patient volume, like this one, the median is 2 h 45 min. 1% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.