CMS certification 150047
St Joseph Health System, LLC
702 van Buren St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802
St Joseph Health System has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 73% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 9 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 1 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: 257 completed surveys, 17% 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 medium; 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 | IN | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 377 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 2 h 1 min | 2 h 25 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 22 visits sampled | 3 h 54 min | 3 h 51 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 32,845 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 129 patients | 71% | 60% | 65% |
How St Joseph Health 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Joseph Health System, LLCThis hospital | 4/5 | 73% | 2 h 1 min | 1 worse |
| Lutheran Hospital of IndianaSame city | 3/5 | 58% | 3 h 35 min | 3 better 1 worse |
| Dupont Hospital LLCSame city | 4/5 | 69% | 2 h 6 min | 1 better 2 worse |
| Orthopaedic Hospital at Parkview NorthSame city | Not rated | 80% | — | 1 better |
| Parkview Regional Medical CenterSame city | 3/5 | 79% | 2 h 30 min | 5 better 2 worse |
| The Orthopaedic Hospital of Lutheran Health NetworSame county · Ft Wayne | Not rated | 69% | — | 1 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. All hospitals in Fort Wayne.
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 352 cases | Too few cases | 3.3% | 3.9% |
| Heart failure 31 cases | Too few cases | 11% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 50 cases | Too few cases | 11.9% | 15.2% |
4 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 0.96 likely 0.46 – 1.46 | 1 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 214 cases | No different | 0.57 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.86 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 299 cases | No different | 0.21 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.45 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 310 cases | No different | 0.27 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 0.49 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 25 cases | No different | 2.32 per 1,000 likely 0.59 per 1,000 – 4.05 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 25 cases | No different | 3.48 per 1,000 likely 0.85 per 1,000 – 6.12 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 27 cases | No different | 1.05 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.15 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
6 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 | 0.46 likely 0.02 – 2.28 | 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 125 cases | Too few cases | 20.7% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 124 cases | Too few cases | 16.3% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 59 cases | Too few cases | 19.4% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 30 cases | Too few cases | 25.4 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 53 cases | Too few cases | 3.5 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 114 cases | No different | 13.1 per 1,000 likely 9.7 per 1,000 – 17.4 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
8 more measures had too few cases here to report.
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.
- 2020 $8,089
- 2021 $1,255
- 2022 $926
- 2023 $2,299
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026.
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 St Joseph Health System
Is St Joseph Health System a good hospital?
St Joseph Health System has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 9 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend St Joseph Health System?
73% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 257 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the St Joseph Health System emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 1 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with medium patient volume, like this one, the median is 2 h 45 min. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does St Joseph Health System receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $2,299 in payments to St Joseph Health System for 2023, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.