USCareCheck

CMS certification 14003F

Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System

820 S Damen Street, Chicago, IL 60612

Acute Care - Veterans Administration Emergency services

Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 68% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 15 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 3 and worse on none.

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 68% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 4/5 609 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 0 worse 3 better of 15 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 609 completed surveys, 22% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
68%
IL 69% · US 71% · 4 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
69%
IL 70% · US 72% · 4 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
77%
IL 79% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
82%
IL 79% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
62%
IL 61% · US 62% · 3 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
88%
IL 86% · US 86% · 4 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
70%
IL 73% · US 74% · 3 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
59%
IL 59% · US 60% · 3 of 5 stars

This hospital Illinois average US average

How Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System 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
Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare SystemThis hospital4/568%—3 better
John H Stroger Jr HospitalSame city2/568%4 h 53 min1 better 1 worse
Rush University Medical CenterSame city5/577%6 h 10 min8 better 3 worse
University of Illinois Hospital and ClinicsSame city4/565%4 h 58 min4 better
Northwestern Memorial HospitalSame city5/581%5 h 50 min9 better 3 worse
Thorek Memorial HospitalSame cityNot rated70%2 h 54 min1 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 Chicago.

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 1,945 cases Too few cases 3.2% 3.9%
Heart attack 90 cases Too few cases 11.1% 11.9%
Heart failure 712 cases Too few cases 5.2% 11.1%
Pneumonia 266 cases Too few cases 9.2% 15.2%
COPD 270 cases Too few cases 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.

1 worse than the nation 11 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 1.09 likely 0.79 – 1.39 1
After hip or knee replacement 120 cases Too few cases 3.3% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 39 cases No different 162.33 per 1,000 likely 104.99 per 1,000 – 219.67 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 6,377 cases Worse 1.33 per 1,000 likely 0.73 per 1,000 – 1.94 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 9,695 cases No different 0.26 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 0.46 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 9,976 cases No different 0.34 per 1,000 likely 0.15 per 1,000 – 0.53 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 1,617 cases No different 1.94 per 1,000 likely 0.54 per 1,000 – 3.33 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 852 cases No different 1.35 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.91 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 993 cases No different 5.02 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 11.52 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,649 cases No different 3.64 per 1,000 likely 1.51 per 1,000 – 5.78 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 946 cases No different 5.17 per 1,000 likely 1.89 per 1,000 – 8.45 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 413 cases No different 1.57 per 1,000 likely 0.12 per 1,000 – 3.01 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,566 cases No different 1.05 per 1,000 likely 0.09 per 1,000 – 2.02 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.

2 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) No different 2.01 likely 0.81 – 4.18 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 1.63 likely 0.52 – 3.92 1

4 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 a heart attack 62 cases Too few cases 15.5% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 611 cases Too few cases 23.3% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 213 cases Too few cases 18.6% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 247 cases Too few cases 22.5% 20%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 121 cases Too few cases 7.1% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 94 cases Too few cases 14.7 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 953 cases Too few cases 3.6 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 310 cases Too few cases 19.8 days per 100 —

6 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

668 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
Clinical 152
Pharmacist 95
Registered Nurse 38
Social Worker 38
Dietitian, Registered 24
Internal Medicine 22
Pharmacist Clinician (PhC)/ Clinical Pharmacy Specialist 20
Psychiatry 17
Speech-Language Pathologist 16
Optometrist 14
Pharmacotherapy 13
General Practice 11

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 Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System

Is Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System a good hospital?

Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 15 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 3 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System?

68% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 609 completed HCAHPS surveys.

Does Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System have an emergency room?

Yes. CMS lists emergency services at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare System.