CMS certification 500005
Virginia Mason Medical Center
925 Seneca St, Seattle, WA 98101
Virginia Mason Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. 76% 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 26 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: 486 completed surveys, 28% 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 | WA | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 362 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 2 h 45 min | 3 h 26 min | 2 h 31 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 39 visits sampled | 5 h 3 min | 3 h 58 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 22,920 patients | 3% | 3% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 318 patients | 64% | 60% | 65% |
How Virginia Mason 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Mason Medical CenterThis hospital | 5/5 | 76% | 3 h 26 min | 4 better 1 worse |
| Harborview Medical CenterSame city | 2/5 | 71% | 4 h 59 min | 1 better 2 worse |
| Seattle VA Medical Center (VA Puget Sound Healthcare System)Same city | 4/5 | 72% | — | 4 better 2 worse |
| Kaiser Permanente Central HospitalSame city | Not rated | 59% | — | No different |
| Swedish Medical CenterSame city | 4/5 | 74% | 2 h 24 min | 2 better |
| Swedish Medical Center / Cherry HillSame city | 4/5 | 76% | 3 h 6 min | 2 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 Seattle.
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 3,311 cases | Too few cases | 3.5% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 165 cases | Too few cases | 11.6% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 294 cases | Too few cases | 8.7% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 231 cases | Too few cases | 9.8% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 198 cases | Too few cases | 11.3% | 11.9% |
| COPD 63 cases | Too few cases | 7.4% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 158 cases | Too few cases | 2.9% | 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 | 0.85 likely 0.62 – 1.08 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 252 cases | Too few cases | 3.5% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 141 cases | No different | 167.52 per 1,000 likely 125.5 per 1,000 – 209.54 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 5,502 cases | No different | 0.57 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 1.1 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 6,896 cases | No different | 0.13 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.31 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 7,935 cases | No different | 0.23 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.42 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 3,337 cases | No different | 2.88 per 1,000 likely 1.77 per 1,000 – 3.99 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 2,185 cases | No different | 1.57 per 1,000 likely 0.33 per 1,000 – 2.81 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 1,968 cases | No different | 7.47 per 1,000 likely 3.45 per 1,000 – 11.49 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 3,535 cases | Better | 1.82 per 1,000 likely 0.23 per 1,000 – 3.4 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 2,166 cases | No different | 5.28 per 1,000 likely 2.83 per 1,000 – 7.72 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 958 cases | No different | 1.65 per 1,000 likely 0.29 per 1,000 – 3 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 2,812 cases | No different | 1.48 per 1,000 likely 0.73 per 1,000 – 2.23 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 | 0.62 likely 0.31 – 1.1 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.22 likely 0.07 – 0.53 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | Better | 0.22 likely 0.04 – 0.73 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | No different | 0 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.76 likely 0.19 – 2.07 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.22 likely 0.09 – 0.46 | 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.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 289 cases | Too few cases | 14.1% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 407 cases | Too few cases | 18.8% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 263 cases | Too few cases | 16.9% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 95 cases | Too few cases | 18.2% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 145 cases | Too few cases | 9.6% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 221 cases | Too few cases | 4.8% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 225 cases | Too few cases | 20.7 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 340 cases | Too few cases | -24.5 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 247 cases | Too few cases | 17 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 3,595 cases | No different | 13.7 per 1,000 likely 11.1 per 1,000 – 16.8 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 469 cases | No different | 11.3 per 100 likely 9.1 per 100 – 14 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 469 cases | No different | 5.6 per 100 likely 4.1 per 100 – 7.5 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 1,760 cases | Better | 0.8 likely 0.7 – 1 | — |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
142 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 164 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 |
|---|---|
| Hospitalist | 33 |
| Pharmacist | 21 |
| Internal Medicine | 17 |
| Emergency Medicine | 8 |
| Occupational Therapist | 8 |
| Physical Therapist | 8 |
| Anesthesiology | 6 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 6 |
| Critical Care Medicine | 5 |
| Acute Care | 3 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 3 |
| Clinical | 2 |
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 $440,705
- 2020 $209,405
- 2021 $269,649
- 2022 $731,519
- 2023 $421,612
- 2024 $226,971
- 2025 $502,141
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Grants | $165,161 | 8 |
| Space rental and facility fees | $91,551 | 17 |
| Debt forgiveness | $47,852 | 6 |
| Gifts | $35,000 | 3 |
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $21,200 | 24 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $20,951 | 5 |
| Education | $12,510 | 5 |
| Food and beverage | $186 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Incyte Corporation | $72,847 | 15 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | $62,646 | 2 |
| Medtronic, Inc. | $50,000 | 1 |
| AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP | $45,000 | 4 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $34,883 | 15 |
| Boston Scientific Corporation | $30,000 | 2 |
| Aesculap, Inc. | $26,309 | 1 |
| Genzyme Corporation | $23,000 | 2 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| A Phase 3, Open Label, Randomized, Active Controlled, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Pemigatinib Versus Gemcitabine Plus Ci… Incyte Corporation | $72,847 |
| A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3b Study to Evaluate the Short- and Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Dual Targeted Therapy With… Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $26,872 |
| A RANDOMIZED, OPEN-LABEL, PHASE 3 TRIAL OF A+AVD VERSUS ABVD AS FRONTLINE THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CLASSICAL HODGKIN LYMPHOMA Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. · NCT01712490 | $4,540 |
| A PHASE 3B OPEN-LABEL STUDY TO DETERMINE THE LONG-TERM SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF VEDOLIZUMAB SUBCUTANEOUS IN SUBJECTS WITH ULCERATIVE COLITIS AND CROHN'… Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. · NCT02620046 | $3,471 |
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 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Is Virginia Mason Medical Center a good hospital?
Virginia Mason Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 5 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 Virginia Mason Medical Center?
76% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 486 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Virginia Mason Medical Center emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 26 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. 3% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Virginia Mason Medical Center receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $502,141 in payments to Virginia Mason Medical Center for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.