CMS certification 140281
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
251 E Huron St, Chicago, IL 60611
Northwestern Memorial Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. 81% 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 9 and worse on 3. Emergency patients spend a median of 5 h 50 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: 2,820 completed surveys, 23% 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 · 359 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 5 h 50 min | 2 h 42 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 39 visits sampled | 7 h 2 min | 4 h 48 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 100,759 patients | 10% | 3% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 68 patients | 50% | 63% | 65% |
How Northwestern 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Memorial HospitalThis hospital | 5/5 | 81% | 5 h 50 min | 9 better 3 worse |
| Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - VA Chicago Healthcare SystemSame city | 4/5 | 68% | — | 3 better |
| John H Stroger Jr HospitalSame city | 2/5 | 68% | 4 h 53 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| Rush University Medical CenterSame city | 5/5 | 77% | 6 h 10 min | 8 better 3 worse |
| University of Illinois Hospital and ClinicsSame city | 4/5 | 65% | 4 h 58 min | 4 better |
| Thorek Memorial HospitalSame city | Not rated | 70% | 2 h 54 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. 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 6,861 cases | Too few cases | 2.2% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 163 cases | Too few cases | 10.1% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 946 cases | Too few cases | 5.7% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 833 cases | Too few cases | 7.9% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 513 cases | Too few cases | 8.5% | 11.9% |
| COPD 168 cases | Too few cases | 7.4% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 184 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | Better | 0.74 likely 0.58 – 0.91 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 345 cases | Too few cases | 3.9% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 403 cases | No different | 146.95 per 1,000 likely 119.26 per 1,000 – 174.63 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 17,389 cases | Worse | 1.26 per 1,000 likely 0.95 per 1,000 – 1.56 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 17,912 cases | No different | 0.15 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.3 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 20,121 cases | No different | 0.32 per 1,000 likely 0.17 per 1,000 – 0.48 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 5,017 cases | No different | 1.45 per 1,000 likely 0.49 per 1,000 – 2.41 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 2,722 cases | No different | 0.65 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.73 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 2,663 cases | Better | 1.71 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 5.12 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 6,294 cases | No different | 2.81 per 1,000 likely 1.6 per 1,000 – 4.02 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 2,766 cases | Better | 1.15 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.19 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 1,549 cases | No different | 2.2 per 1,000 likely 0.98 per 1,000 – 3.41 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 4,931 cases | No different | 0.9 per 1,000 likely 0.25 per 1,000 – 1.55 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 | 0.83 likely 0.57 – 1.17 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.61 likely 0.39 – 0.91 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.9 likely 0.51 – 1.47 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | No different | 0 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.74 likely 0.42 – 1.22 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.39 likely 0.31 – 0.5 | 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 200 cases | Too few cases | 14.5% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 1,270 cases | Too few cases | 19.6% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 949 cases | Too few cases | 17.7% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 259 cases | Too few cases | 21.5% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 165 cases | Too few cases | 11% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 358 cases | Too few cases | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 189 cases | Too few cases | 31.2 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 1,115 cases | Too few cases | -6.1 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 862 cases | Too few cases | 18.6 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 8,056 cases | No different | 11.2 per 1,000 likely 9.4 per 1,000 – 13.4 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 349 cases | No different | 9.6 per 100 likely 7.3 per 100 – 12.7 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 349 cases | No different | 4.4 per 100 likely 3.1 per 100 – 6.5 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 1,959 cases | No different | 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1 | — |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
1,611 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 133 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 |
|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | 204 |
| Anesthesiology | 191 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 116 |
| Hospitalist | 106 |
| Emergency Medicine | 78 |
| Psychiatry | 62 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 57 |
| Surgery | 56 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 51 |
| Obstetrics & Gynecology | 49 |
| Physician Assistant | 49 |
| Neurology | 32 |
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 $2.7M
- 2020 $1.5M
- 2021 $205,187
- 2022 $1.1M
- 2023 $2.5M
- 2024 $4.9M
- 2025 $3.1M
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Space rental and facility fees | $225,052 | 84 |
| Grants | $189,516 | 18 |
| Education | $105,830 | 11 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $87,478 | 14 |
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $24,525 | 8 |
| Debt forgiveness | $15,462 | 76 |
| Gifts | $12,647 | 2 |
| Royalties and licensing fees | $11,500 | 1 |
| Consulting fees | $3,522 | 2 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Abbvie INC. | $873,474 | 3 |
| BeiGene, Ltd. | $608,880 | 13 |
| BeOne Medicines Ltd. | $550,200 | 11 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | $274,120 | 69 |
| Intuitive Surgical, INC. | $64,604 | 9 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | $60,000 | 1 |
| Boston Scientific Corporation | $57,139 | 3 |
| Immucor, Inc. | $57,070 | 1 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| A Phase 1a/1b Open-Label Dose Escalation and Expansion Study of Bcl-2 Inhibitor BGB-11417 in Patients With Mature B-Cell Malignancies BeiGene, Ltd. · NCT04277637 | $1.2M |
| A phase II evaluation of maintenance therapy combination Mirvetuximab Soravtansine and Olaparib in Recurrent Platinum Sensitive Ovarian, Peritoneal, … ABBVIE INC. | $406,941 |
| Upadacitinib as a novel treatment for refractory eyelid dermatitis ABBVIE INC. | $330,886 |
| A randomized phase II trial of Mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853), in BRCA wild-type, folate receptor alpha (FR)-positive recurrent ovarian cancer e… ABBVIE INC. | $135,647 |
| A Single-Arm Phase II Study of Personalized Dose Guidance for Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) in Patients with Lung Tumors: The RADiotherapy Aug Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | $90,000 |
| Evaluation of Extended Phenotype Assays Immucor, Inc. | $57,070 |
| DL method with physics constraints applied to RTSD Modeling and Response Analysis (phase 3). Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | $54,000 |
| KPL Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc | $43,243 |
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 Memorial Hospital
Is Northwestern Memorial Hospital a good hospital?
Northwestern Memorial Hospital 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 9 and worse on 3. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Northwestern Memorial Hospital?
81% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 2,820 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Northwestern Memorial Hospital emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 5 h 50 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. 10% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Northwestern Memorial Hospital receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $3.1M in payments to Northwestern Memorial 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.