CMS certification 520051
Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee
2323 N Lake Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 24 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 47 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: 473 completed surveys, 22% 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. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
| Measure | This hospital | WI | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 730 visits sampled | 2 h 47 min | 2 h 17 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 47 visits sampled | 4 h 2 min | 3 h 23 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 158 patients | 65% | 72% | 65% |
How Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital MilwaukeeThis hospital | 3/5 | 62% | 2 h 47 min | 3 better |
| Ascension SE Wisconsin HospitalSame city | 5/5 | 68% | 2 h 4 min | 2 better 1 worse |
| Ascension St Francis HospitalSame city | 3/5 | 59% | 2 h 16 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| Aurora St Lukes Medical CenterSame city | 4/5 | 71% | 2 h 52 min | 6 better 4 worse |
| Froedtert Memorial Lutheran HospitalSame city | 3/5 | 77% | 4 h 35 min | 5 better 3 worse |
| Milwaukee VA Medical CenterSame city | 3/5 | 78% | — | 4 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 Milwaukee.
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 2,200 cases | Too few cases | 3.1% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 80 cases | Too few cases | 12.3% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 208 cases | Too few cases | 10.4% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 219 cases | Too few cases | 13.8% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 231 cases | Too few cases | 9.5% | 11.9% |
| COPD 56 cases | Too few cases | 7.9% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 58 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 | 0.94 likely 0.6 – 1.28 | 1 |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 64 cases | No different | 161.13 per 1,000 likely 110.49 per 1,000 – 211.77 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 2,698 cases | No different | 0.49 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.28 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 3,357 cases | No different | 0.22 per 1,000 likely 0.01 per 1,000 – 0.44 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 3,518 cases | No different | 0.27 per 1,000 likely 0.07 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 803 cases | No different | 2.14 per 1,000 likely 0.59 per 1,000 – 3.7 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 370 cases | No different | 1.72 per 1,000 likely 0.17 per 1,000 – 3.27 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 357 cases | No different | 10.04 per 1,000 likely 3.54 per 1,000 – 16.53 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 882 cases | No different | 3.47 per 1,000 likely 1.28 per 1,000 – 5.66 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 363 cases | No different | 4.34 per 1,000 likely 0.71 per 1,000 – 7.97 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 160 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 630 cases | No different | 1.17 per 1,000 likely 0.15 per 1,000 – 2.2 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
1 more measure 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) | Better | 0.29 likely 0.09 – 0.7 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.4 likely 0.15 – 0.88 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 1.17 likely 0.47 – 2.43 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.34 likely 0.06 – 1.12 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.51 likely 0.3 – 0.82 | 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 152 cases | Too few cases | 15.5% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 410 cases | Too few cases | 20.7% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 366 cases | Too few cases | 16.1% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 128 cases | Too few cases | 18.6% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 64 cases | Too few cases | 12.2% | 11% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 109 cases | Too few cases | 24.7 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 242 cases | Too few cases | -12.4 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 229 cases | Too few cases | -11.6 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 1,926 cases | No different | 14.8 per 1,000 likely 11.6 per 1,000 – 18.9 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 78 cases | No different | 8.4 per 100 likely 5.8 per 100 – 11.9 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 78 cases | No different | 4.9 per 100 likely 3.2 per 100 – 7.5 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 111 cases | No different | 1 likely 0.7 – 1.3 | — |
2 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
157 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 |
|---|---|
| Pharmacist | 32 |
| Anesthesiology | 12 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 11 |
| Physical Therapist | 11 |
| Occupational Therapist | 10 |
| Dietitian, Registered | 9 |
| Psychiatry | 8 |
| Hospitalist | 7 |
| Speech-Language Pathologist | 7 |
| Emergency Medicine | 6 |
| Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation | 4 |
| Internal Medicine | 3 |
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 $186,328
- 2020 $106,787
- 2021 $36,790
- 2022 $25,440
- 2023 $9,185
- 2024 $12,808
- 2025 $7,084
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| CardioFocus, Inc. | $6,964 | 7 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | $120 | 1 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| POST APPROVAL STUDY OF HEARTLIGHT ENDOSCOPIC ABLATION SYSTEM FOR THE TREATMENT OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATION CardioFocus, Inc. | $6,964 |
| LOWER:LomitapideObservational Worldwide Evaluation Registry (LOWER) Chiesi USA, Inc. · NCT02135705 | $120 |
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 Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee
Is Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee a good hospital?
Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 24 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 Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee?
62% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 473 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 47 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $7,084 in payments to Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee for 2025, most of it research funding, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.