CMS certification 330005
Kaleida Health
100 High Street, Buffalo, NY 14210
Kaleida Health has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 67% 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 5 and worse on 4. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 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: 4,506 completed surveys, 30% 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 | NY | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 455 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 3 h 50 min | 3 h 14 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 175,508 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 863 patients | 49% | 60% | 65% |
How Kaleida Health 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaleida HealthThis hospital | 3/5 | 67% | 3 h 50 min | 5 better 4 worse |
| Sisters of Charity HospitalSame city | 3/5 | 66% | 3 h 23 min | 3 better 3 worse |
| Erie County Medical CenterSame city | 2/5 | 66% | 5 h 25 min | 2 better 5 worse |
| Upstate New York VA Healthcare System (western Ny VA Healthcare System)Same city | 5/5 | 69% | — | 2 better 1 worse |
| Mercy Hospital of BuffaloSame city | 2/5 | 64% | 5 h 7 min | 4 better 2 worse |
| Kenmore Mercy HospitalSame county · Kenmore | 3/5 | 76% | 3 h 56 min | 1 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. All hospitals in Buffalo.
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 10,360 cases | Too few cases | 4.6% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 261 cases | Too few cases | 9.4% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 572 cases | Too few cases | 9.3% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 544 cases | Too few cases | 10.8% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 1,558 cases | Too few cases | 13.6% | 11.9% |
| COPD 243 cases | Too few cases | 7% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 158 cases | Too few cases | 1.4% | 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 | Worse | 1.44 likely 1.21 – 1.68 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 65 cases | Too few cases | 3.6% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 148 cases | Worse | 238.38 per 1,000 likely 196.9 per 1,000 – 279.87 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 9,503 cases | Worse | 2.26 per 1,000 likely 1.76 per 1,000 – 2.76 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 11,843 cases | No different | 0.19 per 1,000 likely 0.01 per 1,000 – 0.36 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 12,468 cases | No different | 0.35 per 1,000 likely 0.17 per 1,000 – 0.52 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 2,956 cases | No different | 2.69 per 1,000 likely 1.46 per 1,000 – 3.92 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 1,368 cases | No different | 1.75 per 1,000 likely 0.47 per 1,000 – 3.03 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 1,398 cases | No different | 9.58 per 1,000 likely 5.06 per 1,000 – 14.1 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 3,105 cases | No different | 3.54 per 1,000 likely 1.8 per 1,000 – 5.27 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 1,368 cases | No different | 3.94 per 1,000 likely 1.11 per 1,000 – 6.78 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 566 cases | No different | 1.7 per 1,000 likely 0.33 per 1,000 – 3.08 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 2,643 cases | No different | 0.98 per 1,000 likely 0.14 per 1,000 – 1.82 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) | Better | 0.55 likely 0.37 – 0.79 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.51 likely 0.37 – 0.69 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | Better | 0.54 likely 0.27 – 1 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | Better | 0 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | Better | 0.51 likely 0.27 – 0.88 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.53 likely 0.41 – 0.67 | 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 817 cases | Too few cases | 12.7% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 1,855 cases | Too few cases | 20.4% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 1,488 cases | Too few cases | 16.5% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 831 cases | Too few cases | 16.8% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 437 cases | Too few cases | 10.4% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 58 cases | Too few cases | 6.1% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 295 cases | Too few cases | -1.9 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 669 cases | Too few cases | 22.1 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 568 cases | Too few cases | 32.3 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 807 cases | No different | 12.5 per 1,000 likely 9.6 per 1,000 – 16.4 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 133 cases | No different | 11.1 per 100 likely 8.1 per 100 – 14.9 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 133 cases | No different | 6.4 per 100 likely 4.4 per 100 – 9.4 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 1,121 cases | No different | 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1.1 | — |
1 more measure 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 $394,586
- 2020 $458,133
- 2021 $470,198
- 2022 $135,759
- 2023 $105,227
- 2024 $434,626
- 2025 $13,858
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $8,315 | 9 |
| Debt forgiveness | $5,491 | 6 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $52 | 3 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Caris MPI, Inc. | $8,315 | 9 |
| Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. | $2,469 | 1 |
| KLS-Martin L.P. | $2,332 | 3 |
| LivaNova USA, Inc. | $519 | 1 |
| Leica Microsystems INC. | $171 | 1 |
| Stryker Corporation | $52 | 3 |
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 Kaleida Health
Is Kaleida Health a good hospital?
Kaleida Health has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 27 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 5 and worse on 4. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Kaleida Health?
67% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 4,506 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Kaleida Health emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 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. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Kaleida Health receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $13,858 in payments to Kaleida Health for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.