Becker’s has compiled a list of hospitals and health systems with the longest emergency department visit times using data from CMS’ provider data catalog.
The CDC tracks the average time patients spend in the ED before leaving the visit as part of its “timely and effective care” measure set. The data was released Aug. 13 and covers ED visits in the 12-month period ending September 2025. It applies to all adults and children treated at hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System or the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, and includes Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense hospitals. Learn more about the measures here.
Nationwide, the median time patients spent in the ED was 162 minutes for the 12-month period ending September 2025, stable from the same period a year prior, according to CMS data.
A note on interpreting these figures: Hospital-level rankings do not account for patient acuity or case complexity. Facilities operating high-volume or Level 1 trauma centers are likely to show longer visit times than lower-acuity peers — reflecting the complexity of care delivered, not necessarily inefficiency. To effectively assess ED performance, experts recommend benchmarking against a cohort of similar facilities. For a deeper look at how leaders can build a more accurate picture of ED performance, read more here.
Below are 10 hospitals with the longest ED visit times. For comparison, Becker’s also compiled figures from the prior year’s dataset. Where available, estimated annual ED volumes are included. Hospitals operating Level 1 trauma centers are bolded.
| Hospital | Median ED wait time (for 12-month period ending Sept. 2025) | Sample size | Median ED wait time (for 12-month period ending Sept. 2024) | Sample size | Estimated annual ED volumes |
| Loma Linda (Calif.) University Medical Center | 413 | 351 | 412 | 367 | 60,000+ |
| Manati Medical Center (Puerto Rico) | 381 | 2150 | 424 | 1716 | — |
| MedStar Washington (D.C.) Hospital Center | 377 | 355 | 404 | 359 | 76,000+ |
| Rush University Medical Center (Chicago) | 370 | 372 | 350 | 369 | 70,000+ |
| MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center (Baltimore) | 367 | 333 | 368 | 314 | 64,000+ |
| Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital (Houston) | 367 | 329 | 322 | 301 | 80,000+ |
| University Health System (San Antonio) | 366 | 354 | 345 | 349 | 66,00+ |
| MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (Washington, D.C.) | 365 | 379 | 354 | 381 | — |
| Grady Memorial Hospital (Atlanta) | 357 | 312 | 317 | 379 | 148,000+ |
| MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center (Clinton, Md.) | 356 | 336 | 364 | 357 | 44,000+ |
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