CMS certification 310016
Heights University Hospital
176 Palisade Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Heights University Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 60% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 17 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 39 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: 170 completed surveys, 8% 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 | NJ | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 357 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 2 h 39 min | 3 h 6 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 33 visits sampled | 4 h | 4 h 52 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 29,765 patients | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 53 patients | 89% | 73% | 65% |
How Heights University 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heights University HospitalThis hospital | 2/5 | 60% | 2 h 39 min | 1 worse |
| Jersey City Medical CenterSame city | 3/5 | 70% | 3 h 7 min | 2 better 1 worse |
| Hudson Regional HospitalSame county · Secaucus | 2/5 | 61% | 2 h 46 min | 1 better 4 worse |
| Palisades Medical CenterSame county · North Bergen | 2/5 | 62% | 3 h 26 min | 2 better 3 worse |
| Carepoint Health-Hoboken University Medical CenterSame county · Hoboken | 1/5 | 50% | 3 h 42 min | 1 better 2 worse |
| Carepoint Health - Bayonne Medical CenterSame county · Bayonne | 1/5 | 45% | 3 h 26 min | 1 better 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 Jersey City.
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 477 cases | Too few cases | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 43 cases | Too few cases | 11.1% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 57 cases | Too few cases | 11.8% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 62 cases | Too few cases | 13.8% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 94 cases | Too few cases | 14% | 11.9% |
| COPD 32 cases | Too few cases | 8.4% | 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 | 1.24 likely 0.81 – 1.67 | 1 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 1,238 cases | No different | 1.58 per 1,000 likely 0.58 per 1,000 – 2.58 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 1,323 cases | No different | 0.2 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.43 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 1,392 cases | No different | 0.26 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 190 cases | No different | 2.19 per 1,000 likely 0.51 per 1,000 – 3.87 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 36 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 37 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 177 cases | No different | 4.2 per 1,000 likely 1.65 per 1,000 – 6.74 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 33 cases | No different | 5.06 per 1,000 likely 0.79 per 1,000 – 9.33 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 43 cases | No different | 1.74 per 1,000 likely 0.22 per 1,000 – 3.27 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 244 cases | No different | 1.01 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.08 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 2.12 likely 0.54 – 5.78 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | No different | 1.38 likely 0.51 – 3.07 | 1 |
4 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 46 cases | Too few cases | 14.6% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 128 cases | Too few cases | 21.2% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 127 cases | Too few cases | 18.8% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 88 cases | Too few cases | 20.3% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 54 cases | Too few cases | 13.4 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 61 cases | Too few cases | 23.3 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 194 cases | No different | 13.2 per 1,000 likely 9.8 per 1,000 – 18 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
7 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
71 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 20 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 |
|---|---|
| Anesthesiology | 11 |
| Family Medicine | 9 |
| Emergency Medicine | 8 |
| Physician Assistant | 8 |
| Clinical | 4 |
| Dietitian, Registered | 4 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health | 3 |
| Addiction Medicine | 2 |
| Adult Health | 2 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 2 |
| Social Worker | 2 |
| Specialist | 2 |
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 $14,387
- 2020 $3,328
- 2021 $0
- 2022 $13,084
- 2023 $2,131
- 2024 $808,442
- 2025 $460,645
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Debt forgiveness | $455,285 | 4 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $5,360 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. | $178,475 | 1 |
| Stryker Corporation | $137,150 | 2 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | $135,833 | 1 |
| Biotronik INC. | $9,187 | 1 |
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 Heights University Hospital
Is Heights University Hospital a good hospital?
Heights University Hospital has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 17 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 Heights University Hospital?
60% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 170 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Heights University Hospital emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 39 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. 3% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Heights University Hospital receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $460,645 in payments to Heights University Hospital for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.