CMS certification 061327
Southwest Memorial Hospital
1311 N Mildred Rd, Cortez, CO 81321
Southwest Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 67% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 10 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none. Emergency patients spend a median of 1 h 46 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: 103 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. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
| Measure | This hospital | CO | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 376 visits sampled | 1 h 46 min | 2 h 14 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 50 visits sampled | 3 h 10 min | 3 h 55 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 13 patients | 46% | 66% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 45 patients | 71% | 72% | 65% |
How Southwest Memorial Hospital 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Memorial HospitalThis hospital | 4/5 | 67% | 1 h 46 min | 1 better |
| Animas Surgical Hospital, LLCSame ZIP area · Durango | Not rated | 93% | 1 h 39 min | No different |
| Mercy Regional Medical CenterSame ZIP area · Durango | 5/5 | 73% | 2 h 46 min | 3 better |
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 225 cases | Too few cases | 4.7% | 3.9% |
| Pneumonia 55 cases | Too few cases | 13.7% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 31 cases | Too few cases | 11.5% | 11.9% |
4 more measures 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C. diff intestinal infections | No different | 0.8 likely 0.04 – 3.94 | 1 |
5 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 26 cases | Too few cases | 21% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 64 cases | Too few cases | 16.7% | 17.3% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 26 cases | Too few cases | -4.4 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 51 cases | Too few cases | -25.5 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 437 cases | No different | 12.9 per 1,000 likely 9.7 per 1,000 – 17.5 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 72 cases | No different | 0.9 likely 0.6 – 1.4 | — |
8 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Not reported for this hospital
CMS had too few cases here to publish results for complications. That is common at small, rural and specialty hospitals, and says nothing either way about quality.
Clinicians registered at this address
46 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 |
|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine | 12 |
| Family Medicine | 4 |
| Pharmacist | 4 |
| Anesthesiology | 3 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 3 |
| Dietitian, Registered | 2 |
| Hospitalist | 2 |
| Physical Therapist | 2 |
| Acute Care | 1 |
| Critical Care Medicine | 1 |
| Diabetes Educator | 1 |
| Family | 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 Southwest Memorial Hospital
Is Southwest Memorial Hospital a good hospital?
Southwest Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 10 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Southwest Memorial Hospital?
67% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 103 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Southwest Memorial Hospital emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 1 h 46 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.