CMS certification 050115
Palomar Health Downtown Campus
555 East Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92025
Palomar Health Downtown Campus has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 66% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 26 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 51 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: 2,384 completed surveys, 16% 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 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 · 346 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 3 h 51 min | 2 h 54 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 20 visits sampled | 4 h 54 min | 4 h 20 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 88,710 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 15 patients | 67% | 74% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 123 patients | 70% | 70% | 65% |
How Palomar Health Downtown Campus 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palomar Health Downtown CampusThis hospital | 3/5 | 66% | 3 h 51 min | 4 better 1 worse |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital - EncinitasSame county · Encinitas | 4/5 | 80% | 3 h 20 min | 7 better 1 worse |
| Scripps Green HospitalSame county · La Jolla | 5/5 | 86% | — | 7 better 1 worse |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La JollaSame county · La Jolla | 5/5 | 85% | 3 h 6 min | 9 better 2 worse |
| NH Camp PendletonSame county · Camp Pendleton | Not rated | 75% | 2 h 28 min | — |
| Tri-City Medical CenterSame county · Oceanside | 1/5 | 52% | 4 h 8 min | 2 better 1 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 4,143 cases | Too few cases | 3.9% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 181 cases | Too few cases | 13.1% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 324 cases | Too few cases | 11.4% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 635 cases | Too few cases | 16.1% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 382 cases | Too few cases | 13.6% | 11.9% |
| COPD 110 cases | Too few cases | 11.3% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 32 cases | Too few cases | 2.4% | 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 | 0.94 likely 0.61 – 1.28 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 38 cases | Too few cases | 3.9% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 113 cases | No different | 215.31 per 1,000 likely 170.28 per 1,000 – 260.35 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 5,775 cases | No different | 0.79 per 1,000 likely 0.16 per 1,000 – 1.42 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 6,632 cases | No different | 0.2 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.39 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 6,431 cases | No different | 0.29 per 1,000 likely 0.09 per 1,000 – 0.48 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 1,519 cases | No different | 2.64 per 1,000 likely 1.17 per 1,000 – 4.11 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 355 cases | No different | 1.44 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.04 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 363 cases | No different | 5.75 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 13.71 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,527 cases | No different | 2.65 per 1,000 likely 0.63 per 1,000 – 4.68 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 328 cases | No different | 6.13 per 1,000 likely 2.1 per 1,000 – 10.16 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 277 cases | No different | 2.28 per 1,000 likely 0.81 per 1,000 – 3.76 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,134 cases | No different | 1.11 per 1,000 likely 0.12 per 1,000 – 2.1 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 | 1.1 likely 0.4 – 2.44 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 1.17 likely 0.64 – 1.99 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 2.12 likely 0.93 – 4.2 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.66 likely 0.21 – 1.59 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.4 likely 0.24 – 0.62 | 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 335 cases | Too few cases | 13.7% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 552 cases | Too few cases | 22.6% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 912 cases | Too few cases | 17.3% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 182 cases | Too few cases | 19.5% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 52 cases | Too few cases | 10.5% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 46 cases | Too few cases | 5.4% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 208 cases | Too few cases | 0.6 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 380 cases | Too few cases | 13.7 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 664 cases | Too few cases | -4.2 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 102 cases | No different | 13 per 1,000 likely 9.7 per 1,000 – 17.4 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 46 cases | No different | 9.7 per 100 likely 6.9 per 100 – 13.4 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 46 cases | No different | 4.9 per 100 likely 3.2 per 100 – 7.5 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 320 cases | No different | 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1.3 | — |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
79 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 |
|---|---|
| Anesthesiology | 25 |
| Emergency Medicine | 19 |
| Advanced Practice Midwife | 8 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 6 |
| Physician Assistant | 4 |
| Clinical | 2 |
| Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine | 2 |
| Pediatrics | 2 |
| Dietitian, Registered | 1 |
| Emergency | 1 |
| Family | 1 |
| Internal Medicine | 1 |
First 12 alphabetically
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 $7,436
- 2020 $82,550
- 2021 $6,400
- 2022 $2,024
- 2023 $33,317
- 2024 $52,281
- 2025 $44,025
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $32,112 | 4 |
| Space rental and facility fees | $8,200 | 4 |
| Debt forgiveness | $3,713 | 4 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| AngioDynamics, Inc. | $30,000 | 1 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | $8,200 | 4 |
| Biotronik INC. | $3,630 | 1 |
| Organon LLC | $1,400 | 2 |
| Medtronic, Inc. | $712 | 1 |
| Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. | $83 | 1 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | $0 | 2 |
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 Palomar Health Downtown Campus
Is Palomar Health Downtown Campus a good hospital?
Palomar Health Downtown Campus has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 26 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Palomar Health Downtown Campus?
66% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 2,384 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Palomar Health Downtown Campus emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 51 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. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Palomar Health Downtown Campus receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $44,025 in payments to Palomar Health Downtown Campus for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.