USCareCheck

CMS certification 050308

El Camino Health

2500 Grant Road, Mountain View, CA 94040

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

El Camino Health has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 80% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 27 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 7 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 43 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 80% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 4/5 1,535 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 1 worse 7 better of 27 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 1,535 completed surveys, 22% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
80%
CA 69% · US 71% · 5 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
76%
CA 68% · US 72% · 4 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
79%
CA 76% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
81%
CA 76% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
61%
CA 59% · US 62% · 3 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
86%
CA 85% · US 86% · 3 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
75%
CA 72% · US 74% · 4 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
47%
CA 48% · US 60% · 2 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 · 1,326 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min 2 h 43 min 2 h 54 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 45 visits sampled 4 h 22 min 4 h 20 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 80,996 patients 0% 2% 2%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 383 patients 79% 70% 65%

How El Camino Health 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
El Camino HealthThis hospital4/580%2 h 43 min7 better 1 worse
Palo Alto VA Medical CenterSame county · Palo Alto5/584%—1 better 1 worse
Stanford Health CareSame county · Stanford5/583%4 h 36 min10 better 4 worse
Kaiser Foundation Hospital-Santa ClaraSame county · Santa Clara2/575%—2 better 1 worse
Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San JoseSame county · San Jose3/566%—1 better
Good Samaritan HospitalSame county · San Jose2/567%2 h 19 min1 better 5 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 4,633 cases Too few cases 2.6% 3.9%
Heart attack 200 cases Too few cases 11.8% 11.9%
Heart failure 814 cases Too few cases 8.9% 11.1%
Pneumonia 842 cases Too few cases 13% 15.2%
Stroke 361 cases Too few cases 9.6% 11.9%
COPD 185 cases Too few cases 7.1% 8.6%
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 68 cases Too few cases 2.6% 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 1.02 likely 0.76 – 1.28 1
After hip or knee replacement 122 cases Too few cases 4.5% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 96 cases No different 167.38 per 1,000 likely 125.03 per 1,000 – 209.73 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 9,460 cases No different 0.6 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 1.15 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 11,474 cases No different 0.16 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.34 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 11,626 cases No different 0.27 per 1,000 likely 0.1 per 1,000 – 0.45 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 2,641 cases No different 2.11 per 1,000 likely 0.8 per 1,000 – 3.43 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 1,327 cases No different 2 per 1,000 likely 0.61 per 1,000 – 3.39 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 1,287 cases No different 9.39 per 1,000 likely 4.18 per 1,000 – 14.6 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 2,814 cases No different 3.14 per 1,000 likely 1.39 per 1,000 – 4.9 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 1,308 cases No different 6.57 per 1,000 likely 3.47 per 1,000 – 9.68 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 827 cases No different 2.14 per 1,000 likely 0.71 per 1,000 – 3.57 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 2,340 cases No different 0.96 per 1,000 likely 0.12 per 1,000 – 1.79 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.

3 better than the nation 3 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) Better 0.29 likely 0.09 – 0.7 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 0.99 likely 0.52 – 1.73 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery No different 1.38 likely 0.64 – 2.61 1
Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy No different 0.71 likely 0.12 – 2.33 1
MRSA bloodstream infections Better 0 1
C. diff intestinal infections Better 0.39 likely 0.27 – 0.56 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.

4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 218 cases Too few cases 15.5% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 962 cases Too few cases 19.5% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 827 cases Too few cases 18.7% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 237 cases Too few cases 20.7% 20%
Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 80 cases Too few cases 10.3% 11%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 144 cases Too few cases 6.1% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 200 cases Too few cases 3.8 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 922 cases Too few cases -17 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 860 cases Too few cases 18.6 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 1,639 cases No different 12.8 per 1,000 likely 10 per 1,000 – 16.1 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 313 cases No different 13.4 per 100 likely 10.6 per 100 – 16.5 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 313 cases No different 6.1 per 100 likely 4.5 per 100 – 8.2 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 1,619 cases No different 0.9 likely 0.8 – 1.1 —

1 more measure had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

142 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 9 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 23
Internal Medicine 16
Anesthesiology 14
Pharmacist 10
Hospitalist 9
Physician Assistant 9
Psychiatry 5
Family 4
Acute Care 3
Anatomic Pathology 3
Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology 3
Clinical 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 El Camino Health

Is El Camino Health a good hospital?

El Camino Health has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 27 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 7 and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend El Camino Health?

80% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,535 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the El Camino Health emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 43 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. 0% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.