CMS certification 240019
Essentia Health Duluth
502 East Second Street, Duluth, MN 55805
CMS does not publish an overall star rating for Essentia Health Duluth. 63% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 7 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none.
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: 370 completed surveys, 27% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
How Essentia Health Duluth 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentia Health DuluthThis hospital | Not rated | 63% | — | 1 better |
| Essentia Health St Mary's Medical CenterSame city | 4/5 | 73% | 3 h 21 min | 2 better |
| St Lukes HospitalSame city | 3/5 | 74% | 3 h 47 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| Essentia Health VirginiaSame county · Virginia | 4/5 | 60% | 2 h 11 min | No different |
| Range Regional Health ServicesSame county · Hibbing | 4/5 | 69% | 2 h 49 min | 1 worse |
| Ely - Bloomenson Community HospitalSame county · Ely | Not rated | 90% | 1 h 40 min | No different |
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 Duluth.
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 514 cases | Too few cases | 3.2% | 3.9% |
6 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 | 0.94 likely 0.46 – 1.41 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 31 cases | Too few cases | 4.5% | 4.1% |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 719 cases | No different | 0.46 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.62 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 910 cases | No different | 0.2 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.44 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 938 cases | No different | 0.35 per 1,000 likely 0.14 per 1,000 – 0.57 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 84 cases | No different | 2.27 per 1,000 likely 0.56 per 1,000 – 3.99 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 55 cases | No different | 1.64 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.36 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 51 cases | No different | 8.79 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 18.64 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 86 cases | No different | 3.4 per 1,000 likely 0.8 per 1,000 – 6.01 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 47 cases | No different | 5.14 per 1,000 likely 0.84 per 1,000 – 9.45 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 72 cases | No different | 1.05 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.13 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
2 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 | Better | 0 | 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 a heart attack 26 cases | Too few cases | 14.2% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 61 cases | Too few cases | 21.1% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 33 cases | Too few cases | 16.9% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 37 cases | Too few cases | 19.1% | 20% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 31 cases | Too few cases | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 25 cases | Too few cases | -32.1 days per 100 | — |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 148 cases | No different | 12.6 per 100 likely 9.5 per 100 – 16.2 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 148 cases | No different | 6.7 per 100 likely 4.6 per 100 – 9.3 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 330 cases | No different | 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1.3 | — |
5 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.
- 2019 $79
- 2020 $0
- 2021 $0
- 2022 $0
- 2023 $0
- 2024 $0
- 2025 $1,600
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $1,600 | 2 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. | $1,600 | 2 |
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 Essentia Health Duluth
Is Essentia Health Duluth a good hospital?
CMS does not publish an overall star rating for Essentia Health Duluth. Of the 7 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Essentia Health Duluth?
63% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 370 completed HCAHPS surveys.
Does Essentia Health Duluth have an emergency room?
No. CMS does not list emergency services at Essentia Health Duluth.
Does Essentia Health Duluth receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $1,600 in payments to Essentia Health Duluth for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.