USCareCheck

CMS certification 210065

Holy Cross Germantown Hospital

19801 Observation Drive, Germantown, MD 20876

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Holy Cross Germantown Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 1 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 21 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 53 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 1/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 68% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 2/5 1,033 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 2 worse 0 better of 21 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 1,033 completed surveys, 29% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
68%
MD 66% · US 71% · 3 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
64%
MD 66% · US 72% · 3 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
71%
MD 75% · US 80% · 2 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
73%
MD 77% · US 80% · 2 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
52%
MD 57% · US 62% · 2 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
82%
MD 86% · US 86% · 2 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
64%
MD 69% · US 74% · 2 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
54%
MD 54% · US 60% · 3 of 5 stars

This hospital Maryland 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 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 MD US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 383 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min 3 h 53 min 4 h 6 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 31 visits sampled 8 h 44 min 6 h 55 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 33,337 patients 2% 3% 2%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 54 patients 87% 65% 65%

How Holy Cross Germantown 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
Holy Cross Germantown HospitalThis hospital1/568%3 h 53 min2 worse
Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical CenterSame county · Rockville2/568%3 h 24 min2 better 3 worse
Adventist Healthcare White Oak Medical CenterSame county · Silver Spring3/576%4 h 56 min1 better 2 worse
Holy Cross HospitalSame county · Silver Spring2/566%5 h 14 min1 better 4 worse
Medstar Montgomery Medical CenterSame county · Olney3/561%4 h 19 min1 better 1 worse
Suburban HospitalSame county · Bethesda4/583%3 h 44 min3 better 2 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 1,479 cases Too few cases 4.2% 3.9%
Heart attack 39 cases Too few cases 11.2% 11.9%
Heart failure 172 cases Too few cases 9.3% 11.1%
Pneumonia 271 cases Too few cases 17.1% 15.2%
Stroke 118 cases Too few cases 11.2% 11.9%
COPD 102 cases Too few cases 8.8% 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.

12 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 0.94 likely 0.53 – 1.34 1
After hip or knee replacement 42 cases Too few cases 3.7% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 29 cases No different 174.16 per 1,000 likely 116.62 per 1,000 – 231.69 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,880 cases No different 0.6 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.48 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 3,229 cases No different 0.19 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.41 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 3,287 cases No different 0.24 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.45 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 519 cases No different 2.11 per 1,000 likely 0.46 per 1,000 – 3.76 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 227 cases No different 1.62 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.33 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 214 cases No different 7.53 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 16.65 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 554 cases No different 3.55 per 1,000 likely 1.21 per 1,000 – 5.89 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 217 cases No different 5.58 per 1,000 likely 1.45 per 1,000 – 9.71 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 144 cases No different 1.71 per 1,000 likely 0.2 per 1,000 – 3.22 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 516 cases No different 0.95 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.98 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.

1 better than the nation 4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) No different 0.76 likely 0.13 – 2.52 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) No different 1.46 likely 0.59 – 3.04 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery No different 0.65 likely 0.03 – 3.19 1
MRSA bloodstream infections No different 1.3 likely 0.22 – 4.29 1
C. diff intestinal infections Better 0.27 likely 0.07 – 0.74 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.

2 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 27 cases Too few cases 15.1% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 217 cases Too few cases 22.2% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 353 cases Too few cases 17.7% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 135 cases Too few cases 19.7% 20%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 47 cases Too few cases 5.2% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after heart failure 186 cases Too few cases 62.8 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 269 cases Too few cases 54 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 90 cases No different 13.9 per 1,000 likely 10.2 per 1,000 – 18.5 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 172 cases No different 1 likely 0.7 – 1.4 —

5 more measures had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

25 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 5
Clinical 4
Dietitian, Registered 2
Internal Medicine 2
Psychiatric/Mental Health 2
Registered Nurse 2
Critical Care Medicine 1
Emergency Medicine 1
Family 1
Lactation Consultant 1
Physical Therapist 1
Professional 1

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 Holy Cross Germantown Hospital

Is Holy Cross Germantown Hospital a good hospital?

Holy Cross Germantown Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 1 out of 5 stars. Of the 21 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on none and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Holy Cross Germantown Hospital?

68% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,033 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Holy Cross Germantown Hospital emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 53 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.