CMS certification 050376
Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center
1000 W Carson St, Torrance, CA 90509
Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center has a CMS overall rating of 1 out of 5 stars. 61% 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 1 and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 5 h 13 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: 1,594 completed surveys, 15% 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 · 339 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 5 h 13 min | 2 h 54 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 15 visits sampled | 10 h 54 min | 4 h 20 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 98,515 patients | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 176 patients | 51% | 70% | 65% |
How Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med CenterThis hospital | 1/5 | 61% | 5 h 13 min | 1 better 2 worse |
| Torrance Memorial Medical CenterSame city | 5/5 | 82% | 2 h 57 min | 6 better 4 worse |
| Providence Little Company of Mary Med Ctr TorranceSame city | 5/5 | 70% | 4 h 51 min | 3 better 1 worse |
| Pih Health Hospital-WhittierSame county · Whittier | 4/5 | 79% | 3 h 57 min | 3 better 2 worse |
| Whittier Hospital Medical CenterSame county · Whittier | 4/5 | 60% | 1 h 43 min | 1 worse |
| Saint John's Health CenterSame county · Santa Monica | 4/5 | 73% | 3 h 5 min | 6 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. All hospitals in Torrance.
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 1,305 cases | Too few cases | 4% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 48 cases | Too few cases | 12.6% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 96 cases | Too few cases | 8.8% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 110 cases | Too few cases | 14.6% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 73 cases | Too few cases | 15.3% | 11.9% |
| COPD 46 cases | Too few cases | 8.3% | 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 | Worse | 1.4 likely 1.03 – 1.76 | 1 |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 54 cases | No different | 177.34 per 1,000 likely 124.5 per 1,000 – 230.19 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,400 cases | No different | 0.69 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.46 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 3,023 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 3,035 cases | No different | 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.45 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 621 cases | No different | 2.16 per 1,000 likely 0.6 per 1,000 – 3.72 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 189 cases | No different | 1.57 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.25 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 207 cases | No different | 16.15 per 1,000 likely 7.82 per 1,000 – 24.48 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 636 cases | Worse | 6.19 per 1,000 likely 3.89 per 1,000 – 8.48 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 207 cases | No different | 7.39 per 1,000 likely 3.47 per 1,000 – 11.31 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 134 cases | No different | 2.66 per 1,000 likely 1.17 per 1,000 – 4.15 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 510 cases | No different | 1.72 per 1,000 likely 0.69 per 1,000 – 2.74 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 1.46 likely 0.88 – 2.29 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 1.14 likely 0.72 – 1.71 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 1.09 likely 0.53 – 2.01 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.31 likely 0.05 – 1.03 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.42 likely 0.28 – 0.61 | 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 113 cases | Too few cases | 15.2% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 190 cases | Too few cases | 23.1% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 162 cases | Too few cases | 18.4% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 93 cases | Too few cases | 20.3% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 134 cases | Too few cases | 1.6 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 122 cases | Too few cases | 20.2 days per 100 | — |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 115 cases | No different | 12.6 per 100 likely 9.2 per 100 – 17.3 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 115 cases | No different | 7.4 per 100 likely 5 per 100 – 10.8 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
6 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
94 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 19 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 |
|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | 15 |
| Pediatrics | 9 |
| Ambulatory Care | 7 |
| Clinical | 4 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 4 |
| Anesthesiology | 3 |
| Critical Care Medicine | 3 |
| Family | 3 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health | 3 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 2 |
| Cardiovascular Disease | 2 |
| Counseling | 2 |
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 $301,781
- 2020 $276,868
- 2021 $128,390
- 2022 $237,609
- 2023 $232,326
- 2024 $178,376
- 2025 $192,554
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Debt forgiveness | $8,002 | 22 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $264 | 1 |
| Food and beverage | $253 | 2 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $128,797 | 28 |
| M.A. Med Alliance S.A. | $34,240 | 9 |
| Endovascular Engineering Inc. | $20,998 | 3 |
| Lantheus Medical Imaging, INC. | $5,197 | 3 |
| Baxter Healthcare | $1,888 | 15 |
| Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. | $646 | 2 |
| Teleflex LLC | $264 | 1 |
| Olympus America Inc. | $231 | 1 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| A STUDY OF TAK-330 FOR REVERSAL OF DIRECT ORAL FACTOR XA INHIBITOR-INDUCED ANTICOAGULATION Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $75,864 |
| A STUDY OF INTRATHECAL SHP611 IN PARTICIPANTS WITH LATE INFANTILE METACHROMATIC LEUKODYSTROPHY Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. · NCT03771898 | $39,089 |
| Engulf Endovascular Engineering Inc. | $20,998 |
| A Prospective Randomized Multicenter Single Blinded Study to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of the SELUTION SLR 014 Drug Eluting Balloon in the … M.A. Med Alliance S.A. | $15,200 |
| A Prospective Randomized Single-Blind Multicenter Study to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of the SELUTION SLR 014 PTCA Drug Eluting Balloon in t… M.A. Med Alliance S.A. | $12,160 |
| TAK-665-4003: AN OPEN-LABEL, MULTICENTER, PHASE 4 STUDY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF A PROPHYLACTIC IMMUNE TOLERIZING REGIMEN IN MPS II TREATMENT-NAVE PA… Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $9,990 |
| A Prospective Randomized Single Blind Multicenter Study to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of the SELUTION SLR 014 Drug Eluting Balloon in the Tr… M.A. Med Alliance S.A. | $6,880 |
| Post-Trial Access (PTA) Program for Patients with Metachromatic Leukodystrophy who Received the Drug SHP611 While Participating in the SHP611-201 or … Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $3,854 |
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 Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center
Is Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center a good hospital?
Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center has a CMS overall rating of 1 out of 5 stars. Of the 21 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center?
61% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,594 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 5 h 13 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. 3% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $192,554 in payments to Lac/Harbor-Ucla Med Center for 2025, most of it research funding, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.