CMS certification 350070
Essentia Health
3000 32nd Ave South, Fargo, ND 58104
Essentia Health has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 75% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 26 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 1 h 48 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: 627 completed surveys, 27% 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 | ND | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 354 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 1 h 48 min | 1 h 50 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 17 visits sampled | 2 h 30 min | 2 h 44 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 34,655 patients | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 143 patients | 67% | 60% | 65% |
How Essentia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentia HealthThis hospital | 3/5 | 75% | 1 h 48 min | 2 better 2 worse |
| Fargo VA Medical CenterSame city | 5/5 | 88% | — | 2 better 1 worse |
| Sanford Medical Center FargoSame city | 4/5 | 72% | 3 h 1 min | 8 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 Fargo.
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 2,388 cases | Too few cases | 3.4% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 150 cases | Too few cases | 10.4% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 448 cases | Too few cases | 10.2% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 140 cases | Too few cases | 14.9% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 217 cases | Too few cases | 11.5% | 11.9% |
| COPD 103 cases | Too few cases | 8.3% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 60 cases | Too few cases | 2.7% | 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 | No different | 0.77 likely 0.46 – 1.08 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 47 cases | Too few cases | 4.7% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 88 cases | No different | 185.63 per 1,000 likely 135.9 per 1,000 – 235.36 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 4,046 cases | No different | 0.17 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.86 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 4,959 cases | No different | 0.16 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.36 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 5,085 cases | No different | 0.3 per 1,000 likely 0.1 per 1,000 – 0.5 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 1,434 cases | No different | 2.25 per 1,000 likely 0.82 per 1,000 – 3.67 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 579 cases | No different | 1.67 per 1,000 likely 0.14 per 1,000 – 3.2 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 572 cases | No different | 8.87 per 1,000 likely 2.82 per 1,000 – 14.91 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 1,535 cases | No different | 2.28 per 1,000 likely 0.29 per 1,000 – 4.27 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 579 cases | No different | 4.15 per 1,000 likely 0.6 per 1,000 – 7.7 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 294 cases | No different | 1.89 per 1,000 likely 0.44 per 1,000 – 3.34 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,145 cases | No different | 1.44 per 1,000 likely 0.5 per 1,000 – 2.39 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) | No different | 0.3 likely 0.02 – 1.47 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0.86 likely 0.22 – 2.35 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 1.02 likely 0.32 – 2.46 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.37 likely 0.02 – 1.83 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.16 likely 0.05 – 0.38 | 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 201 cases | Too few cases | 13.5% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 646 cases | Too few cases | 19.8% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 176 cases | Too few cases | 17.7% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 130 cases | Too few cases | 18.5% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 78 cases | Too few cases | 10.6% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 38 cases | Too few cases | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 152 cases | Too few cases | 27.7 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 514 cases | Too few cases | -12.4 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 145 cases | Too few cases | -5.2 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 1,276 cases | No different | 11.9 per 1,000 likely 9.2 per 1,000 – 15.6 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 171 cases | No different | 9.2 per 100 likely 6.7 per 100 – 12.6 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 171 cases | No different | 6.4 per 100 likely 4.4 per 100 – 9.2 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 765 cases | No different | 1 likely 0.8 – 1.3 | — |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
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
Is Essentia Health a good hospital?
Essentia Health has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 26 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Essentia Health?
75% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 627 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Essentia Health emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 1 h 48 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. 1% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.