Smithfield, N.C.-based Johnston Health has the lowest median emergency department visit time for psychiatric and mental health patients.
Becker’s has compiled lists of hospitals and health systems with the shortest and longest emergency department visit times for psychiatric and mental health patients 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 May 13 and covers ED visits recorded from July 2024 through June 2025. 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.
Most hospitals on the list of the shortest visit times 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. To effectively assess ED performance, experts recommend benchmarking against a cohort of similar facilities.
Below are 20 hospitals and health systems with the shortest and longest median ED visit times before leaving the visit, along with the sample size.
Lowest
| Hospital | Median time spent in the ED in minutes | Sample size |
| Johnston Health (Smithfield, N.C.) | 38 | 13 |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (Los Angeles) | 41 | 83 |
| Good Samaritan Medical Center (West Palm Beach, Fla.) | 47 | 11 |
| Carle Eureka (Ill.) Hospital | 50 | 11 |
| Holy Cross Hospital (Taos, N.M.) | 54 | 21 |
| Southern Monterey County Memorial Hospital (King City, Calif.) | 56 | 16 |
| Baptist Medical Center Attala (Kosciusko, Miss.) | 56 | 12 |
| Riverview Regional Medical Center (Gadsden, Ala.) | 65 | 11 |
| Bridgeport (Conn.) Hospital | 65 | 15 |
| Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital (Waimea, Hawaii) | 66 | 11 |
| Coteau des Prairies Health Care System (Sisseton, S.D.) | 68 | 29 |
| Baptist Health-Van Buren (Ark.) | 72 | 12 |
| Memorial Hospital (Gonzales, Texas) | 72 | 12 |
| Asante Ashland (Ore.) Community Hospital | 73 | 16 |
| Elite Hospital Kingwood (Texas) | 73 | 11 |
| Lawrence County Memorial Hospital (Lawrenceville, Ill.) | 76 | 16 |
| Red Lake (Minn.) Hospital | 80 | 40 |
| Towner County Medical Center (Cando, N.D.) | 82 | 12 |
| Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital (Kapaa, Hawaii) | 83 | 19 |
| Cass County Memorial Hospital (Atlantic, Iowa) | 84 | 15 |
Highest
| Hospital | Median time spent in the ED in minutes | Sample size |
| Crescent Medical Center Lancaster (Texas) | 6,865 | 33 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare West | 4,968 | 17 |
| TriStar Skyline Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.) | 1,445 | 26 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest | 1,393 | 26 |
| Christus Southeast Texas-St. Elizabeth (Beaumont, Texas) | 1,385 | 11 |
| Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center (Columbia, Md.) | 1,381 | 27 |
| Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital (Elkin, N.C.) | 1,209 | 39 |
| Carteret General Hospital (Morehead City, N.C.) | 1,206 | 19 |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood (Texas) | 1,196 | 12 |
| Redington Fairview General Hospital (Skowhegan, Maine) | 1,135 | 17 |
| UT Southwestern University Hospital-William P. Clements Jr. (Dallas, Texas) | 1,135 | 11 |
| Exeter (N.H.) Hospital | 1,103 | 13 |
| Harris Health (Houston) | 1,103 | 21 |
| Frisbie Memorial Hospital (Rochester, N.H.) | 1,100 | 31 |
| Angel Medical Center (Franklin, N.C.) | 1,078 | 11 |
| Henry Ford Health St. John Hospital (Detroit) | 1,060 | 13 |
| Novant Health Rowan Medical Center (Salisbury, N.C.) | 1,058 | 20 |
| MedStar Union Memorial Hospital (Baltimore) | 1,028 | 16 |
| LAC/Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (Torrance, Calif.) | 1,022 | 22 |
| Brattleboro (Vt.) Memorial Hospital | 1,022 | 31 |
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
