CMS certification 050636
Palomar Medical Center Poway
15615 Pomerado Road, Poway, CA 92064
Palomar Medical Center Poway has a CMS overall rating of 4 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 16 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on none. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 20 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: 635 completed surveys, 18% 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 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 · 351 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 3 h 20 min | 2 h 54 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 33,595 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 18 patients | 83% | 74% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 105 patients | 71% | 70% | 65% |
How Palomar Medical Center Poway 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 Medical Center PowayThis hospital | 4/5 | 61% | 3 h 20 min | 2 better |
| Tri-City Medical CenterSame county · Oceanside | 1/5 | 52% | 4 h 8 min | 2 better 1 worse |
| NH Camp PendletonSame county · Camp Pendleton | Not rated | 75% | 2 h 28 min | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San MarcosSame county · San Marcos | 4/5 | 88% | — | No different |
| 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 |
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 1,392 cases | Too few cases | 3.7% | 3.9% |
| Heart failure 145 cases | Too few cases | 9.6% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 368 cases | Too few cases | 10.9% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 94 cases | Too few cases | 11.3% | 11.9% |
| COPD 63 cases | Too few cases | 9.5% | 8.6% |
2 more measures 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 | No different | 0.94 likely 0.53 – 1.36 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 34 cases | Too few cases | 4% | 4.1% |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,056 cases | No different | 0.65 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.57 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 2,455 cases | No different | 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.03 per 1,000 – 0.48 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 2,500 cases | No different | 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.46 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 339 cases | No different | 2.18 per 1,000 likely 0.5 per 1,000 – 3.85 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 98 cases | No different | 1.64 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.36 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 99 cases | No different | 7.89 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 17.22 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 346 cases | No different | 3.41 per 1,000 likely 0.97 per 1,000 – 5.84 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 76 cases | No different | 4.9 per 1,000 likely 0.7 per 1,000 – 9.09 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 113 cases | No different | 1.72 per 1,000 likely 0.21 per 1,000 – 3.24 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 412 cases | No different | 0.94 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.97 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | No different | 0.51 likely 0.16 – 1.24 | 1 |
3 more measures 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 heart failure 232 cases | Too few cases | 20.6% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 438 cases | Too few cases | 17% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 86 cases | Too few cases | 18.8% | 20% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 43 cases | Too few cases | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 168 cases | Too few cases | -55.5 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 405 cases | Too few cases | -19.7 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 206 cases | No different | 13.2 per 1,000 likely 9.9 per 1,000 – 17.7 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 235 cases | No different | 1 likely 0.7 – 1.3 | — |
6 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
15 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 1 resident or trainee. 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 |
|---|---|
| Pharmacist | 3 |
| Medical-Surgical | 2 |
| Adult Health | 1 |
| Emergency Medicine | 1 |
| Internal Medicine | 1 |
| Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology | 1 |
| Occupational Therapist | 1 |
| Pharmacy | 1 |
| Physical Rehabilitation | 1 |
| Physical Therapist | 1 |
| Registered Nurse | 1 |
| Registered Nurse First Assistant | 1 |
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 Palomar Medical Center Poway
Is Palomar Medical Center Poway a good hospital?
Palomar Medical Center Poway has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 16 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Palomar Medical Center Poway?
61% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 635 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Palomar Medical Center Poway emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 20 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.