USCareCheck

CMS certification 340113

Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health

1000 Blythe Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203

Acute Care Hospitals Emergency services Birthing-friendly

Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 71% 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 4 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 16 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 4/5 CMS summary of quality measures
Would definitely recommend 71% US average 71%
Patient survey rating 3/5 1,371 completed surveys
Compared with the nation 1 worse 4 better of 27 measures CMS could compare

What patients said

Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 1,371 completed surveys, 17% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.

Would definitely recommend the hospital
71%
NC 70% · US 71% · 4 of 5 stars
Rated the hospital 9 or 10 out of 10
69%
NC 71% · US 72% · 3 of 5 stars
Nurses always communicated well
75%
NC 80% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Doctors always communicated well
77%
NC 81% · US 80% · 3 of 5 stars
Staff always explained new medicines
57%
NC 63% · US 62% · 2 of 5 stars
Given information about recovering at home
86%
NC 87% · US 86% · 3 of 5 stars
Room was always clean
65%
NC 71% · US 74% · 3 of 5 stars
Always quiet at night
52%
NC 60% · US 60% · 3 of 5 stars

This hospital North Carolina 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 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 NC US
Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 375 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min 3 h 16 min 3 h 7 min 2 h 42 min
Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 17 visits sampled 5 h 16 min 5 h 4 h 17 min
Left before being seen Lower is better · 139,272 patients 2% 2% 2%
Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 104 patients 40% 64% 65%

How Carolinas Medical Center/Behav 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
Carolinas Medical Center/Behav HealthThis hospital4/571%3 h 16 min4 better 1 worse
Atrium Health PinevilleSame city3/576%2 h 40 min2 better 1 worse
Novant Health Mint Hill Medical CenterSame city5/581%3 h 10 min4 better
Novant Health Presbyterian Medical CenterSame city5/569%2 h 42 min6 better 2 worse
Atrium Health University CitySame city3/563%2 h 28 min1 better
Novant Health Ballantyne Medical CenterSame cityNot rated82%3 h 12 min1 better

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 Charlotte.

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 7,580 cases Too few cases 3.3% 3.9%
Heart attack 160 cases Too few cases 8.7% 11.9%
Heart failure 385 cases Too few cases 9.4% 11.1%
Pneumonia 529 cases Too few cases 13.2% 15.2%
Stroke 698 cases Too few cases 13.2% 11.9%
COPD 99 cases Too few cases 6.8% 8.6%
Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 69 cases Too few cases 1.8% 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 better than the nation 11 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Serious complications, combined measure No different 0.88 likely 0.7 – 1.06 1
After hip or knee replacement 304 cases Too few cases 3.1% 4.1%
Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 340 cases No different 180.59 per 1,000 likely 151.25 per 1,000 – 209.92 per 1,000 173.3 per 1,000
Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 12,904 cases No different 0.76 per 1,000 likely 0.37 per 1,000 – 1.16 per 1,000 0.63 per 1,000
Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 14,609 cases No different 0.2 per 1,000 likely 0.03 per 1,000 – 0.36 per 1,000 0.21 per 1,000
Broken bones from falls in the hospital 15,273 cases No different 0.26 per 1,000 likely 0.09 per 1,000 – 0.42 per 1,000 0.27 per 1,000
Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 5,917 cases No different 2.89 per 1,000 likely 1.93 per 1,000 – 3.85 per 1,000 2.34 per 1,000
Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 3,788 cases No different 1.16 per 1,000 likely 0.1 per 1,000 – 2.22 per 1,000 1.67 per 1,000
Breathing failure after surgery 3,685 cases No different 7.61 per 1,000 likely 4.58 per 1,000 – 10.64 per 1,000 9.42 per 1,000
Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 6,259 cases No different 3.07 per 1,000 likely 1.8 per 1,000 – 4.34 per 1,000 3.52 per 1,000
Sepsis after surgery 3,662 cases Better 3.16 per 1,000 likely 1.09 per 1,000 – 5.23 per 1,000 5.27 per 1,000
Surgical wound splitting open 1,563 cases No different 1.49 per 1,000 likely 0.21 per 1,000 – 2.78 per 1,000 1.77 per 1,000
Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 3,736 cases No different 1.1 per 1,000 likely 0.38 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.

3 better than the nation 3 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) No different 1.01 likely 0.78 – 1.29 1
Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) Better 0.34 likely 0.21 – 0.51 1
Surgical site infections after colon surgery No different 1.04 likely 0.65 – 1.58 1
Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy No different 0.8 likely 0.2 – 2.17 1
MRSA bloodstream infections Better 0.32 likely 0.18 – 0.55 1
C. diff intestinal infections Better 0.33 likely 0.27 – 0.4 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.

4 no different
Measure CMS comparison This hospital National
Readmitted after a heart attack 374 cases Too few cases 14.3% 14.4%
Readmitted after heart failure 909 cases Too few cases 20.8% 21.3%
Readmitted after pneumonia 929 cases Too few cases 16.9% 17.3%
Readmitted after COPD 369 cases Too few cases 20.8% 20%
Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 111 cases Too few cases 9.6% 11%
Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 284 cases Too few cases 5.4% 5.8%
Days back in hospital after a heart attack 223 cases Too few cases 7.7 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after heart failure 452 cases Too few cases 16.5 days per 100 —
Days back in hospital after pneumonia 538 cases Too few cases -0.7 days per 100 —
Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 1,280 cases No different 13.9 per 1,000 likely 10.8 per 1,000 – 17.9 per 1,000 13 per 1,000
Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 1,952 cases No different 10.6 per 100 likely 9.5 per 100 – 12 per 100 10.7 per 100
ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 1,952 cases No different 5.1 per 100 likely 4.4 per 100 – 6.1 per 100 5.4 per 100
Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 1,810 cases No different 1 likely 0.9 – 1.2 —

1 more measure had too few cases here to report.

Clinicians registered at this address

1,073 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 198 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 245
Emergency Medicine 179
Physician Assistant 82
Anesthesiology 70
Internal Medicine 61
Pediatrics 43
Hospitalist 31
Nurse Practitioner 29
Surgery 24
Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology 22
Pharmacist 22
Family 19

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 $280,921 general $155,090 · research $125,831
All years, 2019–2025 $21.6M 2,237 reported payments
Studies funded, 2025 10 17 companies paid in total
  • 2019 $5.2M
  • 2020 $4.3M
  • 2021 $3.1M
  • 2022 $3.4M
  • 2023 $3.5M
  • 2024 $1.9M
  • 2025 $280,921

General payments Research payments

What the 2025 general payments were for

Type of payment Amount Payments
Space rental and facility fees $73,722 15
Speaking, teaching and other services $59,065 9
Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan $10,655 3
Gifts $8,990 1
Grants $2,600 2
Honoraria $42 1
Food and beverage $16 1

Largest paying companies, 2025

Company Amount Payments
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. $59,537 10
TransMedics, Inc. $50,500 2
Abbvie INC. $39,095 1
Medtronic, Inc. $35,767 11
Daiichi Sankyo Inc. $24,718 12
Medical Device Business Services, Inc. $16,784 7
Haemonetics Corporation $13,532 1
Scientia Vascular $8,990 1

Largest research studies funded here, 2025

Study Amount
Study of Ibrutinib Combined With Venetoclax in Subjects With Mantle Cell Lymphoma (SYMPATICO) ABBVIE INC. · NCT03112174 $39,095
DS7011-107 Daiichi Sankyo Inc. · NCT05638802 $24,718
CORRELATING FUNCTION OF STORED PLATELETS WITH CORRECTION OF PLATELET DYSFUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH-GRADE CEREBRAL TUMORS Haemonetics Corporation $13,532
ANCHOR Registry Medtronic, Inc. $13,030
Harmony PAS2 Medtronic, Inc. $9,422
EXCOR Active Driving System for the EXCOR Pediatric VAD IDE Study Berlin Heart Inc · NCT05610787 $8,500
VERDICT Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. $7,400
A Clinical Registry of the ProTi 360 Interbody Fusion Devices for the Treatment of Cervical and Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease Tyber Medical, LLC $6,400

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 Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health

Is Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health a good hospital?

Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 27 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 4 and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.

Would patients recommend Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health?

71% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,371 completed HCAHPS surveys.

How long is the wait in the Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health emergency room?

Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 16 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 Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health receive money from drug and device companies?

Drug and device makers reported $280,921 in payments to Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.