USCareCheck

CMS certification 050290

Saint John's Health Center

2121 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Saint John's Health Center has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 73% 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 6 and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 5 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 4/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 73% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 3/5 450 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 2 worse 6 better of 26 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 450 completed surveys, 24% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
73%
CA 69% · US 71% · 4 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
70%
CA 68% · US 72% · 3 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
71%
CA 76% · US 80% · 2 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
75%
CA 76% · US 80% · 2 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
57%
CA 59% · US 62% · 2 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
78%
CA 85% · US 86% · 2 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
75%
CA 72% · US 74% · 4 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
58%
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 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 CA US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 344 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min 3 h 5 min 2 h 54 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 24 visits sampled 6 h 20 min 4 h 20 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 37,703 patients 2% 2% 2%
Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 11 patients 73% 74% 69%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 140 patients 77% 70% 65%

How Saint John's Health 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 John's Health CenterThis hospital4/573%3 h 5 min6 better 2 worse
Santa Monica - UCLA Med Ctr & Orthopaedic HospitalSame city5/575%3 h 44 min5 better 2 worse
Providence Little Company of Mary Med Ctr TorranceSame county · Torrance5/570%4 h 51 min3 better 1 worse
Centinela Hospital Medical CenterSame county · Inglewood2/550%3 h 8 min4 better 3 worse
Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med CenterSame county · Torrance1/561%5 h 13 min1 better 2 worse
Torrance Memorial Medical CenterSame county · Torrance5/582%2 h 57 min6 better 4 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 Santa Monica.

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 3,461 cases Too few cases 3.1% 3.9%
Heart attack 175 cases Too few cases 11.1% 11.9%
Heart failure 412 cases Too few cases 8.4% 11.1%
Pneumonia 615 cases Too few cases 11% 15.2%
Stroke 317 cases Too few cases 10.3% 11.9%
COPD 101 cases Too few cases 8.7% 8.6%
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 33 cases Too few cases 2.5% 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.

12 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 0.86 likely 0.6 – 1.12 1
After hip or knee replacement 945 cases Too few cases 2.3% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 101 cases No different 140.49 per 1,000 likely 93.64 per 1,000 – 187.34 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 6,775 cases No different 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.81 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 8,758 cases No different 0.23 per 1,000 likely 0.03 per 1,000 – 0.42 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 9,150 cases No different 0.18 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.36 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 3,369 cases No different 1.7 per 1,000 likely 0.39 per 1,000 – 3 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 2,439 cases No different 2.47 per 1,000 likely 1.03 per 1,000 – 3.91 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 2,341 cases No different 8.55 per 1,000 likely 3.36 per 1,000 – 13.74 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 3,516 cases No different 2.57 per 1,000 likely 0.92 per 1,000 – 4.22 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 2,433 cases No different 6.38 per 1,000 likely 3.53 per 1,000 – 9.24 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 677 cases No different 1.52 per 1,000 likely 0.1 per 1,000 – 2.94 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,939 cases No different 0.64 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.49 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.

1 better than the nation 4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) No different 0.6 likely 0.1 – 1.98 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 0.63 likely 0.16 – 1.72 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery Better 0 1
MRSA bloodstream infections No different 1.27 likely 0.21 – 4.19 1
C. diff intestinal infections No different 1.07 likely 0.69 – 1.58 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.

4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 174 cases Too few cases 14% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 434 cases Too few cases 19.8% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 605 cases Too few cases 17% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 107 cases Too few cases 19.6% 20%
Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 27 cases Too few cases 11.1% 11%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 907 cases Too few cases 3.5% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 178 cases Too few cases -5.3 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 458 cases Too few cases 1.3 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 646 cases Too few cases 44.4 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 258 cases No different 11.9 per 1,000 likely 9 per 1,000 – 15.8 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 246 cases No different 10.6 per 100 likely 7.7 per 100 – 14.4 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 246 cases No different 4.6 per 100 likely 3.1 per 100 – 6.8 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 955 cases No different 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1.1 —

1 more measure 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
Hospitalist 18
Physician Assistant 15
Surgery 13
Anesthesiology 11
Emergency Medicine 7
Nurse Practitioner 7
Dietitian, Registered 5
Urology 5
Surgical Oncology 4
Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology 3
Critical Care Medicine 3
Family 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 John's Health Center

Is Saint John's Health Center a good hospital?

Saint John's Health Center has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 26 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 6 and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Saint John's Health Center?

73% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 450 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Saint John's Health Center emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 5 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. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.