CMS certification 500108
St Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA 98405
St Joseph Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 66% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 25 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 7 and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 31 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: 474 completed surveys, 15% 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 | WA | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 369 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 22 min | 3 h 31 min | 2 h 31 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 29 visits sampled | 6 h 24 min | 3 h 58 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 46,068 patients | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 311 patients | 54% | 60% | 65% |
How St Joseph 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Joseph Medical CenterThis hospital | 3/5 | 66% | 3 h 31 min | 7 better 2 worse |
| Tacoma General Allenmore HospitalSame city | 2/5 | 65% | 3 h 28 min | 4 better 4 worse |
| Madigan AMC (FT Lewis)Same county · Joint Base Lewis-McChord | Not rated | 82% | 2 h 59 min | — |
| Multicare Good Samaritan HospitalSame county · Puyallup | 2/5 | 58% | 2 h 13 min | 4 better 3 worse |
| St Anthony HospitalSame county · Gig Harbor | 5/5 | 78% | 3 h 20 min | 4 better |
| St Clare HospitalSame county · Lakewood | 4/5 | 69% | 2 h 41 min | 2 better 1 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 Tacoma.
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 4,438 cases | Too few cases | 3.4% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 189 cases | Too few cases | 12.3% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 383 cases | Too few cases | 12.4% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 207 cases | Too few cases | 16.2% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 524 cases | Too few cases | 10.3% | 11.9% |
| COPD 69 cases | Too few cases | 9.2% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 92 cases | Too few cases | 1.9% | 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 | 0.83 likely 0.57 – 1.09 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 31 cases | Too few cases | 5.1% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 146 cases | No different | 188.25 per 1,000 likely 149.05 per 1,000 – 227.44 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 5,564 cases | No different | 0.11 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.67 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 6,201 cases | No different | 0.18 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 6,784 cases | No different | 0.24 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 0.43 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 2,042 cases | No different | 2.08 per 1,000 likely 0.78 per 1,000 – 3.39 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 930 cases | No different | 1.02 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 2.37 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 820 cases | No different | 8.67 per 1,000 likely 3.68 per 1,000 – 13.66 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 2,128 cases | No different | 3.28 per 1,000 likely 1.49 per 1,000 – 5.07 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 928 cases | No different | 6.74 per 1,000 likely 3.71 per 1,000 – 9.77 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 447 cases | No different | 1.82 per 1,000 likely 0.4 per 1,000 – 3.24 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,524 cases | No different | 0.9 per 1,000 likely 0.01 per 1,000 – 1.8 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) | Better | 0.1 likely 0.02 – 0.32 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.16 likely 0.05 – 0.38 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | Better | 0.18 likely 0.03 – 0.58 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | No different | 0.65 likely 0.03 – 3.21 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.61 likely 0.29 – 1.16 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.28 likely 0.16 – 0.45 | 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 448 cases | Too few cases | 13.1% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 842 cases | Too few cases | 19.1% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 437 cases | Too few cases | 16% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 209 cases | Too few cases | 20.9% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 137 cases | Too few cases | 10.6% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 37 cases | Too few cases | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 259 cases | Too few cases | 2.6 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 429 cases | Too few cases | -0.1 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 204 cases | Too few cases | -19.2 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 317 cases | No different | 13.8 per 1,000 likely 10.4 per 1,000 – 18.4 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 30 cases | No different | 9.7 per 100 likely 6.6 per 100 – 14.1 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 30 cases | No different | 4.9 per 100 likely 3.1 per 100 – 7.7 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 668 cases | No different | 1.1 likely 0.9 – 1.4 | — |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
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.
- 2022 $14,915
- 2023 $0
- 2024 $12,142
- 2025 $18,905
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Debt forgiveness | $17,505 | 4 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $1,400 | 2 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC | $10,405 | 1 |
| Biotronik INC. | $7,004 | 2 |
| Organon LLC | $1,400 | 2 |
| Baxter Healthcare | $96 | 1 |
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 St Joseph Medical Center
Is St Joseph Medical Center a good hospital?
St Joseph Medical Center has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 25 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 7 and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend St Joseph Medical Center?
66% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 474 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the St Joseph Medical Center emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 31 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. 1% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does St Joseph Medical Center receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $18,905 in payments to St Joseph Medical Center for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.