The following are two lists of hospitals with the shortest emergency department wait times in the country, as determined by data from Hospital Compare. The first list is based on the median time in minutes that patients spend in a hospital's ED before being admitted as an inpatient, and the second list is based on the median amount of time in minutes a patient spent in the ED before leaving for an inpatient room after a physician decided to admit them as an inpatient.
As of July 2013, the national average ED wait time for patients before being admitted as an inpatient is 274 minutes, and the national average ED wait time for patients before leaving for an inpatient room is 96 minutes, according to Hospital Compare.
Data was excluded for hospitals with no data for the measure, too short a collection time, too small a number of cases or discrepancies in the data collection process.
ED-1 List: Each entry is the median time in minutes patients spent in a hospital's ED before they were admitted to the hospital as an inpatient.
Woman's Hospital (Baton Rouge, La.) — 60
The Woman's Hospital of Texas (Houston) — 62
Ness County Hospital District #2 (Ness City, Kan.) — 64
Jefferson County Hospital (Fayette, Miss.) — 65
Stevens Community Medical Center (Morris, Minn.) — 73
Graham County Hospital (Hill City, Kan.) — 75
Nocona (Texas) General Hospital — 75
Johnson Memorial Hospital (Dawson, Minn.) — 78
Hamlin (Texas) Memorial Hospital — 83
Morton County Hospital (Elkhart, Kan.) — 83
Appleton (Minn.) Municipal Hospital — 83
Sanford Canby (Minn.) Medical Center — 85
Anson (Texas) General Hospital — 85
Mercy Hospital (Moundridge, Kan.) — 85
Perry (Okla.) Memorial Hospital — 87
Lakewood Health Center (Baudette, Minn.) — 90
Mayo Clinic Health System-Springfield (Minn.) — 90
Sleepy Eye (Minn.) Municipal Hospital — 90
Knox County Hospital (Knox City, Texas) — 92
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley (Sun Valley, Calif.) — 93
Ortonville (Minn.) Area Health Services — 95
Coffey County Hospital (Burlington, Kan.) — 97
Murray County Memorial Hospital (Slayton, Minn.) — 98
Seymour (Texas) Hospital — 100
Glacial Ridge Hospital (Glenwood, Minn.) — 100
Yuma (Colo.) Hospital — 100
Harmon Memorial Hospital (Hollis, Okla.) — 100
Bigfork (Minn.) Valley Hospital — 101
Mary Hurley Hospital (Colgate, Okla.) — 102
Mayo Clinic Health System-St. James (Minn.) — 104
Fredonia (Kansas) Regional Hospital — 105
Elkview General Hospital (Hobart, Okla.) — 105
Mercy Hospital of Valley City (N.D.) — 108
Community Hospital of Onaga (Kan.) and St. Mary's Campus — 108
Sanford Bagley (Minn.) Medical Center — 110
Herington (Kan.) Municipal Hospital — 110
Stamford (Texas) Memorial Hospital — 110
Centracare Health System-Melrose (Minn.) Hospital — 110
Faith Community Hospital (Jacksboro, Texas) — 112
The Women's Hospital (Newburgh, Ind.) — 112
Sanford Tracy (Minn.) — 112
Latimer County General Hospital (Wilburton, Okla.) — 115
Cumberland River Hospital (Celina, Tenn.) — 115
Lamb Healthcare Center (Littlefield, Texas) — 115
Ely (Minn.) Bloomenson Community Hospital — 117
Hemphill County Hospital (Canadian, Texas) — 118
Beaver (Utah) Valley Hospital — 118
Prowers Medical Center (Lamar, Colo.) — 118
Centracare Health System-Sauk Centre (Minn.) — 118
Harrisburg (Ill.) Medical Center — 120
Sumner Regional Medical Center (Wellington, Kan.) — 20
Central Montana Medical Center (Lewistown, Mont.) — 120
Memorial Hospital & Physician Group (Frederick, Okla.) — 120
Fillmore (Utah) Community Medical Center — 120
ED-2 List: Each entry is the median amount of time in minutes a patient spent in the ED before leaving for their inpatient room after the physician decided to admit them as an inpatient.
Guadalupe County Hospital (Santa Rosa, N.M.) — 0
Pipestone (Minn.) County Medical Center-Ashton — 0
Southeast Colorado Hospital (Springfield) — 0
Florala (Ala.) Memorial Hospital — 0
Johnson Memorial Hospital (Dawson, Minn.) — 0
Hamlin (Texas) Memorial Hospital — 0
Ellsworth (Kan.) County Medical Center — 0
Beaver (Utah) Valley Hospital — 0
Redwood Area Hospital (Redwood Falls, Minn.) — 0
Seymour (Texas) Hospital — 0
Memorial Hospital & Physician Group (Frederick, Okla.) — 0
Perry Community Hospital (Linden, Tenn.) — 0
P.H.S. Indian Hospital at Belcourt (N.D.)-Quentin North Burdick — 0
West Carroll Memorial Hospital (Oak Grove, La.) — 0
Green County Hospital (Eutaw, Ala.) — 0
Madelia (Minn.) Community Hospital — 0
Mary Hurley Hospital (Colgate, Okla.) — 0
Appleton (Minn.) Municipal Hospital — 0
Murray County Memorial Hospital (Slayton, Minn.) — 0
Ortonville (Minn.) Area Health Services — 0
Community Hospital Onaga (Kan.) and St. Mary's Campus — 0
Herrington (Kan.) Municipal Hospital — 0
Rainy Lake Medical Center (International Falls, Minn.) — 0
Sleepy Eye (Minn.) Municipal Hospital — 0
Centracare Health System-Melrose (Minn.) Hospital — 0
United Hospital District (Blue Earth, Minn.) — 0
Sanford Luverne (Minn.) Medical Center — 1
The Woman's Hospital of Texas (Houston) — 2
Centracare Health System-Sauk Centre (Minn.) — 2
Mercy Hospital of Valley City (N.D.) — 3
Paynesville (Minn.) Area Hospital — 3
Mercy Hospital (Moundridge, Kan.) — 3
Methodist McKinney (Texas) Hospital — 5
Harrisburg (Ill.) Medical Center — 6
Delta (Utah) Community Medical Center — 7
Citizens Medical Center (Columbia, La.) — 8
St. Joseph's Health Services (Hillsboro, Wis.) — 8
Bigfork (Minn.) Valley Hospital — 9
Hemphill County Hospital (Canadian, Texas) — 10
Mayo Clinic Health System-Springfield (Minn.) — 10
Lakewood Health Center (Baudette, Minn.) — 10
Harmon Memorial Hospital (Hollis, Okla.) — 10
Healthmark Regional Medical Center (Defuniak Springs, Fla.) — 13
Custer (S.D.) Regional Hospital-Critical Access Hospital — 13
Mayo Clinic Health System-St. James (Minn.) — 14
Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital (Sitka, Alaska) — 15
Woman's Hospital (Baton Rouge, La.) — 15
Cumberland River Hospital (Celina, Tenn.) — 15
Nocona (Texas) General Hospital — 15
Barnes-Kasson County Hospital (Susquehanna, Pa.) — 15
Yuma (Colo.) District Hospital — 15
Anson (Texas) General Hospital — 15
Stamford (Texas) Memorial Hospital — 15