CMS certification 450668
Sierra Medical Center
1625 Medical Center Dr, El Paso, TX 79902
Sierra Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 64% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 22 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 3 and worse on none. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 40 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: 1,319 completed surveys, 20% 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 low; 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 | TX | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 434 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 3 min | 2 h 40 min | 2 h 25 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 18 visits sampled | 5 h 4 min | 3 h 53 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 16,448 patients | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 93 patients | 42% | 68% | 65% |
How Sierra Medical 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Medical CenterThis hospital | 2/5 | 64% | 2 h 40 min | 3 better |
| Las Palmas Medical Center a Campus of Lpds HealthcSame city | 2/5 | 60% | 2 h 7 min | 3 better 2 worse |
| The Hospitals of Providence - Memorial CampusSame city | 2/5 | 56% | 2 h 37 min | 4 better 1 worse |
| University Medical Center of El PasoSame city | 3/5 | 71% | 4 h | 2 better 1 worse |
| The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain CampusSame city | 2/5 | 64% | 2 h 56 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| William Beaumont AMG (FT Bliss)Same city | Not rated | 87% | 3 h 9 min | — |
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 El Paso.
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 2,426 cases | Too few cases | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 55 cases | Too few cases | 11.9% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 161 cases | Too few cases | 11% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 153 cases | Too few cases | 17.4% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 225 cases | Too few cases | 11.5% | 11.9% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 39 cases | Too few cases | 1.9% | 2.4% |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
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 | 1.11 likely 0.7 – 1.52 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 245 cases | Too few cases | 2.9% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 36 cases | No different | 193.81 per 1,000 likely 139.06 per 1,000 – 248.56 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,391 cases | No different | 0.52 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.34 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 2,680 cases | No different | 0.18 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.39 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 2,878 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 779 cases | No different | 2.16 per 1,000 likely 0.6 per 1,000 – 3.72 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 787 cases | No different | 5.74 per 1,000 likely 3.45 per 1,000 – 8.03 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 161 cases | No different | 1.69 per 1,000 likely 0.19 per 1,000 – 3.19 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 552 cases | No different | 0.93 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.96 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
3 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 | 0.85 likely 0.22 – 2.31 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.24 likely 0.04 – 0.8 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.78 likely 0.13 – 2.57 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.39 likely 0.02 – 1.93 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | No different | 0.79 likely 0.55 – 1.09 | 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 151 cases | Too few cases | 13.9% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 435 cases | Too few cases | 22.4% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 350 cases | Too few cases | 16.9% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 55 cases | Too few cases | 19.7% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 66 cases | Too few cases | 12.5% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 255 cases | Too few cases | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 58 cases | Too few cases | -3 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 181 cases | Too few cases | -18.7 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 161 cases | Too few cases | 2.5 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 293 cases | No different | 13.4 per 1,000 likely 9.9 per 1,000 – 17.7 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 325 cases | No different | 0.9 likely 0.6 – 1.2 | — |
3 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
32 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry. 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 |
|---|---|
| Acute Care | 4 |
| Anesthesiologist Assistant | 4 |
| Emergency Medicine | 4 |
| Family | 4 |
| Internal Medicine | 3 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 3 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 3 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 2 |
| Anatomic Pathology | 1 |
| Anesthesiology | 1 |
| Occupational Therapist | 1 |
| Perfusionist | 1 |
First 12 alphabetically
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 Sierra Medical Center
Is Sierra Medical Center a good hospital?
Sierra Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 22 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 3 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Sierra Medical Center?
64% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,319 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Sierra Medical Center emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 40 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with low patient volume, like this one, the median is 2 h 3 min. 2% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.