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 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 May 13 and covers ED visits in the 12-month period ending June 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 average ED visit time was 161 minutes for the 12-month period ending June 2025, down from 163 minutes the same period a year prior, CMS data shows.
A note on interpreting these figures: Hospital-level rankings do not account for patient acuity or case complexity. 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. 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 12 hospitals with the longest ED visit times. For comparison, Becker’s also compiled figures from the prior year’s dataset.
| Hospital | Median ED visit time (2025) | Sample size | Median ED visit time (2024) | Sample size |
| Wiregrass Medical Center (Geneva, Ala.) | 59* | 96 | 110 | 415 |
| Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital (Kapaa, Hawaii) | 59 | 412 | 64 | 411 |
| Kula (Hawaii) Hospital | 59 | 283 | 61 | 221 |
| Myrtue Medical Center (Harlan, Iowa) | 59 | 369 | 51* | 283 |
| Compass Memorial Healthcare (Marengo, Iowa) | 58 | 472 | 120* | 386 |
| Richardson Medical Center (Rayville, La.) | 57 | 360 | 56 | 401 |
| Pinckneyville (Ill.) Community Hospital | 50 | 200 | 93* | 137 |
| Cuba (N.Y.) Memorial Hospital | 48* | 20 | 72* | 215 |
| Coteau Des Prairies Health Care System (Sisseton, S.D.) | 48 | 362 | 54* | 250 |
| Mitchell County Hospital District (Colorado City, Texas) | 47 | 385 | 50 | 404 |
| Rio Grande Hospital (Del Norte, Colo.) | 42 | 175 | 45 | 175 |
| Mille Lacs Health System | 42* | 417 | 46* | 378 |
*Data is based on a shorter time period than required, according to CMS.
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