CMS certification 140130
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital
1000 N Westmoreland Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. 78% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 7 and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 41 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: 757 completed surveys, 25% 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 | IL | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 379 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 3 h 41 min | 2 h 42 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 16 visits sampled | 3 h 24 min | 4 h 48 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 75,253 patients | 3% | 3% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 115 patients | 60% | 63% | 65% |
How Northwestern Lake Forest 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Lake Forest HospitalThis hospital | 5/5 | 78% | 3 h 41 min | 7 better 2 worse |
| Advocate Condell Medical CenterSame county · Libertyville | 4/5 | 66% | 3 h 34 min | 4 better 1 worse |
| North Chicago VA Medical CenterSame county · North Chicago | 4/5 | 72% | — | 2 better 1 worse |
| Advocate Good Shepherd HospitalSame county · Barrington | 5/5 | 77% | 3 h 14 min | 5 better 1 worse |
| Vista Medical Center EastSame county · Waukegan | 2/5 | 30% | 3 h 9 min | 2 better 1 worse |
| Midwestern Region Med Center, INCSame county · Zion | 4/5 | 89% | 2 h 55 min | 1 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 2,684 cases | Too few cases | 2.7% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 126 cases | Too few cases | 11% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 543 cases | Too few cases | 5.7% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 524 cases | Too few cases | 10.1% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 199 cases | Too few cases | 9.2% | 11.9% |
| COPD 118 cases | Too few cases | 6.4% | 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 | No different | 1.08 likely 0.74 – 1.41 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 80 cases | Too few cases | 3.2% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 44 cases | No different | 165.39 per 1,000 likely 107.31 per 1,000 – 223.46 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 5,995 cases | No different | 1.28 per 1,000 likely 0.61 per 1,000 – 1.95 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 7,237 cases | No different | 0.19 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.38 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 7,490 cases | No different | 0.28 per 1,000 likely 0.09 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 1,036 cases | No different | 1.84 per 1,000 likely 0.3 per 1,000 – 3.39 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 458 cases | No different | 1.52 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.17 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 425 cases | No different | 7.23 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 15.05 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,119 cases | No different | 3.92 per 1,000 likely 1.8 per 1,000 – 6.04 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 438 cases | No different | 3.97 per 1,000 likely 0.19 per 1,000 – 7.75 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 254 cases | No different | 1.61 per 1,000 likely 0.15 per 1,000 – 3.08 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,201 cases | No different | 0.79 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.74 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 1.17 likely 0.3 – 3.19 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 1.91 likely 0.49 – 5.19 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 1.31 likely 0.48 – 2.91 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.17 likely 0.05 – 0.41 | 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 92 cases | Too few cases | 14.6% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 623 cases | Too few cases | 19.6% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 507 cases | Too few cases | 16.6% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 140 cases | Too few cases | 18.4% | 20% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 74 cases | Too few cases | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 97 cases | Too few cases | -13.8 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 632 cases | Too few cases | -15 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 529 cases | Too few cases | -30 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 3,079 cases | No different | 11.8 per 1,000 likely 9.3 per 1,000 – 14.7 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 434 cases | Worse | 14.2 per 100 likely 11.5 per 100 – 17.3 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 434 cases | No different | 5.2 per 100 likely 3.8 per 100 – 7.1 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 775 cases | No different | 1.1 likely 0.9 – 1.4 | — |
2 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
266 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 |
|---|---|
| Physician Assistant | 45 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 32 |
| Hospitalist | 26 |
| Anesthesiology | 19 |
| Emergency Medicine | 13 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 9 |
| Physical Therapist | 9 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 7 |
| Clinical | 6 |
| Neurology | 6 |
| Family | 5 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 4 |
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 $2,045
- 2020 $153
- 2021 $107,076
- 2022 $174,130
- 2023 $350,896
- 2024 $49,454
- 2025 $623,156
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Space rental and facility fees | $10,000 | 2 |
| Debt forgiveness | $21 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $596,479 | 29 |
| E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | $26,656 | 1 |
| Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. | $21 | 1 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| VEDOLIZUMAB-4052 RECAP: Re-define the IBD disease burden status Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $300,000 |
| A PHASE 1/2, FIRST-IN-HUMAN, OPEN LABEL, DOSE ESCALATION STUDY OF MVC-101, AN EGFR X CD3 CONDITIONAL BISPECIFIC REDIRECTED ACTIVATION (COBRATM) PROTE… Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $145,044 |
| TAK-012-1501 Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $80,776 |
| AN OPEN-LABEL, DOSE ESCALATION, PHASE 1 STUDY TO EVALUATE THE SAFETY, TOLERABILITY, PHARMACOKINETICS, AND PHARMACODYNAMICS OF TAK-676 AS A SINGLE AGE… Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. · NCT04420884 | $40,608 |
| Testing the Addition of an IDH2 Inhibitor, Enasidenib, to Usual Treatment (Cedazuridine-Decitabine) for Higher-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Wi… E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. · NCT06577441 | $26,656 |
| RELAPSED OR REFRACTORY (R/R) B-CELL NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA (NHL) Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $15,966 |
| Characterization of Early Response to Vedolizumab and Ustekinumab in Participants with Crohns Disease Using Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (VOICE)… Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $4,085 |
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 Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital
Is Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital a good hospital?
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 7 and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital?
78% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 757 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 41 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 Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $623,156 in payments to Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital 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.