CMS certification 390096
Penn State Health St. Joseph
2500 Bernville Road, Reading, PA 19605
Penn State Health St. Joseph has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 73% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 23 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 52 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: 1,574 completed surveys, 25% 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 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 | PA | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 387 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 22 min | 3 h 52 min | 3 h 6 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 12 visits sampled | 3 h 38 min | 4 h 57 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 45,619 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 475 patients | 57% | 60% | 65% |
How Penn State Health St. Joseph 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Health St. JosephThis hospital | 3/5 | 73% | 3 h 52 min | 1 better |
| Surgical Institute of ReadingSame county · Wyomissing | Not rated | 87% | — | No different |
| Reading HospitalSame county · West Reading | 4/5 | 64% | 3 h 50 min | 4 better 3 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 Reading.
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 2,347 cases | Too few cases | 3.7% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 104 cases | Too few cases | 11.4% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 417 cases | Too few cases | 10.9% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 226 cases | Too few cases | 15.1% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 180 cases | Too few cases | 13.3% | 11.9% |
| COPD 129 cases | Too few cases | 10% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 64 cases | Too few cases | 2.2% | 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 | 0.83 likely 0.45 – 1.22 | 1 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,476 cases | No different | 0.29 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.2 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 3,705 cases | No different | 0.17 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.38 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 3,920 cases | No different | 0.24 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.45 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 628 cases | No different | 1.96 per 1,000 likely 0.37 per 1,000 – 3.55 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 264 cases | No different | 1.48 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.1 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 273 cases | No different | 10.16 per 1,000 likely 2.55 per 1,000 – 17.76 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 687 cases | No different | 2.81 per 1,000 likely 0.44 per 1,000 – 5.18 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 270 cases | No different | 4.47 per 1,000 likely 0.46 per 1,000 – 8.49 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 112 cases | No different | 1.7 per 1,000 likely 0.2 per 1,000 – 3.21 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 548 cases | No different | 0.96 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2 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 | 0.61 likely 0.16 – 1.67 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0.23 likely 0.01 – 1.14 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 1.04 likely 0.17 – 3.43 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 1.36 likely 0.23 – 4.48 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | No different | 0.75 likely 0.41 – 1.28 | 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 156 cases | Too few cases | 13.1% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 802 cases | Too few cases | 21.7% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 355 cases | Too few cases | 15.9% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 249 cases | Too few cases | 20.5% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 76 cases | Too few cases | 11% | 11% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 116 cases | Too few cases | -28.5 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 508 cases | Too few cases | -2.7 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 233 cases | Too few cases | -11.9 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 204 cases | No different | 13.2 per 1,000 likely 9.9 per 1,000 – 17.6 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 130 cases | No different | 13.3 per 100 likely 9.7 per 100 – 17.9 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 130 cases | No different | 4.8 per 100 likely 3.2 per 100 – 7.2 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 329 cases | No different | 0.9 likely 0.7 – 1.3 | — |
2 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
108 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 11 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 |
|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | 11 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 11 |
| Family Medicine | 9 |
| Physician Assistant | 8 |
| Anesthesiology | 6 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 6 |
| Hospitalist | 6 |
| Pediatrics | 6 |
| Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine | 5 |
| Acute Care | 4 |
| Medical | 4 |
| Registered Nurse | 4 |
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 $9,276
- 2020 $36,156
- 2021 $151,983
- 2022 $24
- 2023 $0
- 2024 $4,147
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026.
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 Penn State Health St. Joseph
Is Penn State Health St. Joseph a good hospital?
Penn State Health St. Joseph has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 23 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Penn State Health St. Joseph?
73% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,574 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Penn State Health St. Joseph emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 52 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. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Penn State Health St. Joseph receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $4,147 in payments to Penn State Health St. Joseph for 2024, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.