USCareCheck

CMS certification 050104

Saint Francis Medical Center

3630 East Imperial Highway, Lynwood, CA 90262

Acute Care Hospitals Birthing-friendly

Saint Francis Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 18 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 and worse on none. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 58 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.

CMS overall rating 3/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 62% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 2/5 575 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 0 worse 4 better of 18 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 575 completed surveys, 34% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
62%
CA 69% · US 71% · 3 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
65%
CA 68% · US 72% · 3 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
70%
CA 76% · US 80% · 2 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
70%
CA 76% · US 80% · 2 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
52%
CA 59% · US 62% · 2 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
81%
CA 85% · US 86% · 2 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
77%
CA 72% · US 74% · 4 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
51%
CA 48% · US 60% · 3 of 5 stars

This hospital California average US average

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 very high; 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 CA US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 404 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min 3 h 58 min 2 h 54 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 23 visits sampled 5 h 44 min 4 h 20 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 70,191 patients 1% 2% 2%
Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 11 patients 82% 74% 69%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 108 patients 60% 70% 65%

How Saint Francis Medical Center 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
Saint Francis Medical CenterThis hospital3/562%3 h 58 min4 better
Community Hospital of Huntington ParkSame county · Huntington Park1/555%3 h 29 min2 worse
Memorial Hospital of GardenaSame county · Gardena1/546%2 h 18 min2 better 1 worse
Kaiser Foundation Hospital - DowneySame county · Downey4/572%—1 better
Lac/Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation CtrSame county · Downey3/576%—No different
Pih Health Downey HospitalSame county · Downey4/573%4 h 2 min2 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.

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 1,566 cases Too few cases 3.6% 3.9%
Heart attack 65 cases Too few cases 12.3% 11.9%
Heart failure 143 cases Too few cases 8% 11.1%
Pneumonia 188 cases Too few cases 13.5% 15.2%
Stroke 218 cases Too few cases 12.3% 11.9%
COPD 37 cases Too few cases 8.9% 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.

12 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 0.82 likely 0.42 – 1.21 1
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 45 cases No different 171.25 per 1,000 likely 124.53 per 1,000 – 217.98 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,725 cases No different 0.19 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.92 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 3,230 cases No different 0.18 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.4 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 3,280 cases No different 0.24 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.45 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 343 cases No different 2.13 per 1,000 likely 0.47 per 1,000 – 3.79 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 34 cases No different 1.67 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.4 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 39 cases No different 9.03 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 19.03 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 356 cases No different 2.98 per 1,000 likely 0.54 per 1,000 – 5.42 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 35 cases No different 5.11 per 1,000 likely 0.82 per 1,000 – 9.39 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 38 cases No different 1.74 per 1,000 likely 0.22 per 1,000 – 3.27 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 378 cases No different 0.99 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.05 per 1,000 1.06 per 1,000

1 more measure 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.

3 better than the nation 2 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) Better 0.23 likely 0.04 – 0.75 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 0.44 likely 0.11 – 1.19 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery Better 0 1
MRSA bloodstream infections No different 1.18 likely 0.48 – 2.46 1
C. diff intestinal infections Better 0.06 likely 0.01 – 0.15 1

1 more measure 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 195 cases Too few cases 14.3% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 370 cases Too few cases 21.2% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 364 cases Too few cases 17.1% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 92 cases Too few cases 19.4% 20%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 57 cases Too few cases -36.8 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 196 cases Too few cases -26.7 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 215 cases Too few cases -11.8 days per 100 —

7 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

139 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 38 residents and trainees. 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
Emergency Medicine 21
Physician Assistant 18
Anesthesiology 14
Clinical 11
Psychiatric/Mental Health 9
Rehabilitation Practitioner 6
Diagnostic Radiology 5
Dietitian, Registered 5
Medical 5
Pharmacist 4
Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology 3
Mental Health 3

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 Saint Francis Medical Center

Is Saint Francis Medical Center a good hospital?

Saint Francis Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 18 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Saint Francis Medical Center?

62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 575 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Saint Francis Medical Center emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 58 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with very high patient volume, like this one, the median is 3 h 21 min. 1% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.