Becker’s has compiled a list of hospitals and health systems with the shortest emergency department visit times using CMS’ Timely and Effective Care-Hospital data.
The CDC tracks the median length of stay for ED patients as part of its “timely and effective care” measure set. The data was released Nov. 26 and covers ED visits recorded in 2024. Measures in this dataset apply to all adults and children treated in hospitals paid under either the inpatient or outpatient prospective payment systems. Learn more about the measures here.
Nationwide, the average ED visit time was 161 minutes in 2024, down from 163 minutes in 2023, CMS data shows.
Most hospitals on this list are small community or critical access hospitals that may see lower annual ED volumes and patient acuities than facilities operating Level 1 or 2 trauma centers. CMS does not include hospitals’ total ED volumes or case mix index in its dataset.
Below are 10 hospitals and health systems with the shortest median ED visit times, along with the previous wait times from the last data set for comparison.
*Data is based on a shorter time period than required, according to CMS.
| Median ED length of stay (2024) | Sample size | Previous median ED length of stay (2023) | Sample size | |
| Rio Grande Hospital (Del Norte, Colo.) | 45 minutes | 174 patients | 38* minutes | 176 patients |
| Mille Lacs Health System (Onamia, Minn.)* | 46 | 231 | 54 | 425 |
| Mitchell County Hospital District (Colorado City, Texas) | 48 | 392 | 55 | 405 |
| Myrtue Medical Center (Harlan, Iowa) | 52 | 373 | 65 | 282 |
| Coteau Des Prairies Health Care System (Sisseton, S.D.) | 53 | 342 | 64 | 198 |
| Richardson Medical Center (Rayville, La.) | 53 | 377 | 56 | 402 |
| Lady of the Sea General Hospital (Cut Off, La.) | 54 | 380 | 42 | 191 |
| Pinckneyville (Ill.) Community Hospital | 56 | 189 | 154 | 129 |
| Cuba Memorial Hospital* | 57 | 46 | 68 | 335 |
| Mercy Hospital Tishomingo (Okla.) | 58 | 358 | 58 | 368 |
*Data is based on a shorter time period than required, according to CMS.
