USCareCheck

CMS certification 330140

St Joseph's Hospital Health Center

301 Prospect Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13203

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

St Joseph's Hospital Health Center has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 74% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 4. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 46 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 2/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 74% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 3/5 521 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 4 worse 2 better of 24 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 521 completed surveys, 27% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
74%
NY 67% · US 71% · 4 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
73%
NY 66% · US 72% · 3 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
79%
NY 77% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
77%
NY 77% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
56%
NY 59% · US 62% · 2 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
87%
NY 85% · US 86% · 4 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
64%
NY 69% · US 74% · 3 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
54%
NY 49% · US 60% · 3 of 5 stars

This hospital New York 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 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 · 319 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 22 min 3 h 46 min 3 h 14 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 54 visits sampled 3 h 32 min 4 h 54 min 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 57,055 patients 3% 2% 2%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 163 patients 47% 60% 65%

How St Joseph's Hospital Health Center 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's Hospital Health CenterThis hospital2/574%3 h 46 min2 better 4 worse
Crouse HospitalSame city2/569%3 h 40 min4 better 3 worse
Syracuse VA Medical CenterSame city3/580%—2 worse
University Hospital S U N Y Health Science CenterSame city3/573%4 h 51 min3 better 4 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 Syracuse.

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 5,077 cases Too few cases 3.4% 3.9%
Heart attack 402 cases Too few cases 11% 11.9%
Heart failure 451 cases Too few cases 11.5% 11.1%
Pneumonia 607 cases Too few cases 16.8% 15.2%
Stroke 127 cases Too few cases 12.4% 11.9%
COPD 146 cases Too few cases 6.9% 8.6%
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 356 cases Too few cases 1.3% 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.

1 worse than the nation 11 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 1.18 likely 0.94 – 1.43 1
After hip or knee replacement 199 cases Too few cases 5.4% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 146 cases No different 175.63 per 1,000 likely 134.42 per 1,000 – 216.84 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 6,731 cases No different 0.8 per 1,000 likely 0.22 per 1,000 – 1.37 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 7,936 cases No different 0.18 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.37 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 8,783 cases No different 0.2 per 1,000 likely 0.01 per 1,000 – 0.38 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 2,745 cases No different 1.82 per 1,000 likely 0.6 per 1,000 – 3.04 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 1,453 cases No different 1.64 per 1,000 likely 0.48 per 1,000 – 2.79 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 1,529 cases No different 9.78 per 1,000 likely 6.12 per 1,000 – 13.43 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 3,081 cases No different 3.61 per 1,000 likely 1.8 per 1,000 – 5.43 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 1,458 cases Worse 9.79 per 1,000 likely 6.9 per 1,000 – 12.68 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 423 cases No different 1.58 per 1,000 likely 0.13 per 1,000 – 3.03 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,424 cases No different 0.79 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.73 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.

4 better than the nation 1 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) Better 0.28 likely 0.09 – 0.67 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) Better 0.38 likely 0.17 – 0.75 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery Better 0.17 likely 0.01 – 0.84 1
MRSA bloodstream infections No different 0.31 likely 0.05 – 1.04 1
C. diff intestinal infections Better 0.36 likely 0.2 – 0.61 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.

4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 846 cases Too few cases 16.1% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 898 cases Too few cases 23.3% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 1,049 cases Too few cases 19.5% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 352 cases Too few cases 21.9% 20%
Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 501 cases Too few cases 10.3% 11%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 196 cases Too few cases 7.9% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 475 cases Too few cases 18.6 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 508 cases Too few cases 50.3 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 583 cases Too few cases 43.4 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 519 cases No different 13.8 per 1,000 likely 10.7 per 1,000 – 18.1 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 38 cases No different 12.8 per 100 likely 9.1 per 100 – 18 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 38 cases No different 5.1 per 100 likely 3.3 per 100 – 8.1 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 726 cases No different 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1.1 —

1 more measure had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

431 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 121 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
Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered 60
Physician Assistant 43
Family Medicine 39
Family 33
Surgical 32
Nurse Practitioner 27
Anesthesiology 20
Hospitalist 18
Emergency Medicine 13
Psychiatry 12
Psychiatric/Mental Health 10
Critical Care Medicine 9

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.

2025 total $25,530 general $25,530 · research $0
All years, 2019–2025 $251,213 79 reported payments
  • 2019 $14,865
  • 2020 $75,527
  • 2021 $72,900
  • 2022 $27,574
  • 2023 $19,591
  • 2024 $15,226
  • 2025 $25,530

General payments Research payments

What the 2025 general payments were for

Type of payment Amount Payments
Debt forgiveness $11,733 6
Speaking, teaching and other services $6,941 2
Grants $5,000 1
Space rental and facility fees $1,694 3
Food and beverage $162 1

Largest paying companies, 2025

Company Amount Payments
Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C. $8,887 1
Medline Industries LP $6,941 2
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp) $5,000 1
Aesculap, Inc. $2,575 2
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP $1,000 1
Abbott Laboratories $694 2
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. $162 1
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. $139 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 St Joseph's Hospital Health Center

Is St Joseph's Hospital Health Center a good hospital?

St Joseph's Hospital Health Center has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 24 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 4. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend St Joseph's Hospital Health Center?

74% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 521 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the St Joseph's Hospital Health Center emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 46 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with high patient volume, like this one, the median is 3 h 22 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 St Joseph's Hospital Health Center receive money from drug and device companies?

Drug and device makers reported $25,530 in payments to St Joseph's Hospital Health Center for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.