USCareCheck

CMS certification 140119

Rush University Medical Center

1653 West Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60612

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Rush University Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. 77% 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 8 and worse on 3. Emergency patients spend a median of 6 h 10 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 5/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 77% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 3/5 2,986 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 3 worse 8 better of 27 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 2,986 completed surveys, 14% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
77%
IL 69% · US 71% · 4 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
74%
IL 70% · US 72% · 4 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
80%
IL 79% · US 80% · 4 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
80%
IL 79% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
62%
IL 61% · US 62% · 3 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
86%
IL 86% · US 86% · 3 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
67%
IL 73% · US 74% · 3 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
65%
IL 59% · US 60% · 4 of 5 stars

This hospital Illinois 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 IL US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 372 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min 6 h 10 min 2 h 42 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 23 visits sampled 5 h 55 min 4 h 48 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 68,557 patients 9% 3% 2%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 84 patients 31% 63% 65%

How Rush University Medical 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
Rush University Medical CenterThis hospital5/577%6 h 10 min8 better 3 worse
Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare SystemSame city4/568%—3 better
John H Stroger Jr HospitalSame city2/568%4 h 53 min1 better 1 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 4,318 cases Too few cases 3.4% 3.9%
Heart attack 109 cases Too few cases 10.5% 11.9%
Heart failure 456 cases Too few cases 7.6% 11.1%
Pneumonia 293 cases Too few cases 12.2% 15.2%
Stroke 474 cases Too few cases 12.1% 11.9%
COPD 74 cases Too few cases 7% 8.6%
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 96 cases Too few cases 2% 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.

2 better than the nation 10 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure Better 0.71 likely 0.52 – 0.89 1
After hip or knee replacement 250 cases Too few cases 5% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 270 cases No different 139.78 per 1,000 likely 103.41 per 1,000 – 176.15 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 10,808 cases No different 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.64 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 12,435 cases No different 0.23 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 0.4 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 13,489 cases No different 0.21 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.37 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 4,438 cases No different 2.89 per 1,000 likely 1.85 per 1,000 – 3.93 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 2,945 cases No different 1.04 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.13 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 2,718 cases Better 5.28 per 1,000 likely 1.81 per 1,000 – 8.74 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 4,878 cases No different 4.02 per 1,000 likely 2.67 per 1,000 – 5.36 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 2,977 cases No different 3.52 per 1,000 likely 1.48 per 1,000 – 5.56 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 1,337 cases No different 1.76 per 1,000 likely 0.47 per 1,000 – 3.06 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 3,418 cases No different 0.74 per 1,000 likely 0.01 per 1,000 – 1.48 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 0.39 likely 0.22 – 0.65 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) Better 0.46 likely 0.23 – 0.82 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery No different 0.5 likely 0.16 – 1.21 1
Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy No different 2.15 likely 0.87 – 4.48 1
MRSA bloodstream infections No different 0.5 likely 0.16 – 1.19 1
C. diff intestinal infections Better 0.53 likely 0.4 – 0.68 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.

1 worse than the nation 1 better than the nation 2 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 149 cases Too few cases 15% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 730 cases Too few cases 20.7% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 385 cases Too few cases 16.9% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 126 cases Too few cases 19.9% 20%
Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 98 cases Too few cases 10.5% 11%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 252 cases Too few cases 5.8% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 139 cases Too few cases 2.9 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 571 cases Too few cases 18.2 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 311 cases Too few cases 19.5 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 2,305 cases No different 12 per 1,000 likely 9.5 per 1,000 – 15.2 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 889 cases Worse 13.7 per 100 likely 11.8 per 100 – 15.8 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 889 cases Better 3.8 per 100 likely 2.9 per 100 – 5 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 1,115 cases No different 1 likely 0.8 – 1.2 —

1 more measure had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

570 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
Anesthesiology 67
Emergency Medicine 45
Internal Medicine 33
Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology 31
Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered 31
Physical Therapist 31
Diagnostic Radiology 22
Pediatrics 21
Registered Nurse 17
Clinical 16
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine 14
Psychiatry 14

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.

2025 total $10.9M general $4.8M · research $6.2M
All years, 2019–2025 $87.3M 9,748 reported payments
Studies funded, 2025 201 134 companies paid in total
  • 2019 $11.4M
  • 2020 $14.5M
  • 2021 $13.7M
  • 2022 $12.3M
  • 2023 $12.4M
  • 2024 $12.1M
  • 2025 $10.9M

General payments Research payments

What the 2025 general payments were for

Type of payment Amount Payments
Grants $3.4M 68
Education $581,450 10
Space rental and facility fees $325,872 50
Speaking, teaching and other services $324,927 17
Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan $101,563 4
Consulting fees $11,169 15
Charitable contributions $3,000 1
Debt forgiveness $1,297 3
Food and beverage $353 3
Travel and lodging $60 1

Largest paying companies, 2025

Company Amount Payments
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $1.2M 36
Genentech, Inc. $1.1M 30
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC $753,467 26
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP $573,543 11
United Therapeutics Corporation $477,813 16
Sobi, INC $414,950 2
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation $386,554 10
Sage Therapeutics, LLC $341,055 4

Largest research studies funded here, 2025

Study Amount
Entry into patient study in AS Genentech, Inc. $658,276
GTX-102-CL301 Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. · NCT06617429 $633,473
GTX-102-CL302 Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. · NCT06415344 $552,481
ORIGINS: Developing a translational model of hidradenitis suppurativa GENZYME CORPORATION $240,416
A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Parallel-Treatment Arm, 216 Week Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of Treatment With BAN2401 in Subjects With… Eisai Inc. $229,570
ION582CS1 Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $229,166
A Biomarker-Directed Phase 2 Platform Study in Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer whose Disease has Progressed on First-Line Osimertin… AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP $133,389
Ablation-Index Guided Scar-Mediated Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation in Patients with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy (AIM-VT) - a Prospective Single-Blinded… Biosense Webster, Inc. $108,757

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 Rush University Medical Center

Is Rush University Medical Center a good hospital?

Rush University Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Of the 27 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 8 and worse on 3. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Rush University Medical Center?

77% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 2,986 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Rush University Medical Center emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 6 h 10 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. 9% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.

Does Rush University Medical Center receive money from drug and device companies?

Drug and device makers reported $10.9M in payments to Rush University Medical 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.