CMS certification 520089
Unitypoint Health - Meriter
202 S Park St, Madison, WI 53715
Unitypoint Health - Meriter 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 23 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 5 and worse on 2. Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 22 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: 482 completed surveys, 21% 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 | WI | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 359 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 22 min | 2 h 22 min | 2 h 17 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 32 visits sampled | 3 h 27 min | 3 h 23 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 47,579 patients | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 11 patients | 36% | 74% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 161 patients | 66% | 72% | 65% |
How Unitypoint Health - Meriter 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unitypoint Health - MeriterThis hospital | 5/5 | 76% | 2 h 22 min | 5 better 2 worse |
| SSM Health St Mary's Hospital - MadisonSame city | 4/5 | 74% | 3 h 10 min | 3 better 1 worse |
| Madison VA Medical CenterSame city | 5/5 | 88% | — | 4 better 1 worse |
| University of Wi Hospitals & Clinics AuthoritySame city | 5/5 | 82% | 3 h 34 min | 6 better 1 worse |
| Stoughton HospitalSame county · Stoughton | 3/5 | 90% | 2 h 34 min | 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 Madison.
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 2,794 cases | Too few cases | 3% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 127 cases | Too few cases | 11% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 486 cases | Too few cases | 10.4% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 468 cases | Too few cases | 12.9% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 200 cases | Too few cases | 8.6% | 11.9% |
| COPD 133 cases | Too few cases | 7.7% | 8.6% |
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 | 0.83 likely 0.48 – 1.17 | 1 |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 40 cases | No different | 150.42 per 1,000 likely 93.96 per 1,000 – 206.88 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 5,150 cases | No different | 0.5 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.15 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 6,380 cases | No different | 0.2 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.4 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 6,401 cases | No different | 0.38 per 1,000 likely 0.18 per 1,000 – 0.58 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 960 cases | No different | 2.31 per 1,000 likely 0.79 per 1,000 – 3.83 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 254 cases | No different | 1.56 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 3.24 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 256 cases | No different | 6.4 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 14.8 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 997 cases | No different | 2.31 per 1,000 likely 0.16 per 1,000 – 4.45 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 231 cases | No different | 4.94 per 1,000 likely 1.06 per 1,000 – 8.82 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 248 cases | No different | 1.6 per 1,000 likely 0.14 per 1,000 – 3.06 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,217 cases | No different | 1.03 per 1,000 likely 0.08 per 1,000 – 1.99 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 | 0.31 likely 0.08 – 0.85 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.36 likely 0.09 – 0.98 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 1.61 likely 0.79 – 2.95 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | No different | 2.21 likely 0.56 – 6.02 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | Better | 0.16 likely 0.01 – 0.8 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.67 likely 0.48 – 0.91 | 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 120 cases | Too few cases | 12.8% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 680 cases | Too few cases | 22.6% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 585 cases | Too few cases | 17.3% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 225 cases | Too few cases | 19.5% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 106 cases | Too few cases | -27.4 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 579 cases | Too few cases | 13.5 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 501 cases | Too few cases | 9.6 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 2,010 cases | No different | 14 per 1,000 likely 11.3 per 1,000 – 17.7 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 39 cases | No different | 10.9 per 100 likely 7.4 per 100 – 15.9 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 39 cases | No different | 5.2 per 100 likely 3.3 per 100 – 8.1 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 962 cases | No different | 1.1 likely 0.9 – 1.3 | — |
3 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
531 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 |
|---|---|
| Physical Therapist | 94 |
| Occupational Therapist | 68 |
| Internal Medicine | 37 |
| Speech-Language Pathologist | 32 |
| Anesthesiology | 30 |
| Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine | 18 |
| Physical Therapy Assistant | 17 |
| Neonatal, Critical Care | 14 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 14 |
| Clinical | 13 |
| Emergency Medicine | 13 |
| Pulmonary Disease | 12 |
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 $22,639
- 2020 $45,495
- 2021 $14,423
- 2022 $23,599
- 2023 $4,314
- 2024 $1,281
- 2025 $1,129
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Debt forgiveness | $1,129 | 3 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Aesculap, Inc. | $785 | 1 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | $274 | 1 |
| Stryker Corporation | $71 | 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 Unitypoint Health - Meriter
Is Unitypoint Health - Meriter a good hospital?
Unitypoint Health - Meriter has a CMS overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Of the 23 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 5 and worse on 2. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Unitypoint Health - Meriter?
76% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 482 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Unitypoint Health - Meriter emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 2 h 22 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 Unitypoint Health - Meriter receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $1,129 in payments to Unitypoint Health - Meriter for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.