- North Dakota tops the list of the states with the shortest ER wait times
- Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was analyzed
- Maryland has the longest ER wait time in America
New research has discovered the states with the shortest ER wait times, with North Dakota taking the top spot.
Personal injury attorneys InjuredinFlorida.com analyzed hospital data to discover the average time patients spent in the emergency room across all 50 states.
Rank | State | Average ER wait time |
1 | North Dakota | 1 hour 48 minutes |
2 | Nebraska & South Dakota | 1 hour 55 minutes |
3 | Hawaii | 1 hour 56 minutes |
4 | Iowa & Oklahoma | 1 hour 59 minutes |
5 | Kansas | 2 hours 4 minutes |
6 | Montana | 2 hours 7 minutes |
7 | Mississippi | 2 hours 9 minutes |
8 | Idaho & Louisiana | 2 hours 12 minutes |
9 | Arkansas & Minnesota | 2 hours 14 minutes |
10 | Wyoming | 2 hours 15 minutes |
North Dakota places first on the list of the states with the shortest ER times, with patients spending an average of 1 hour and 48 minutes before leaving the emergency room. Eight of North Dakota’s hospitals were listed in the top 100 Critical Access Hospitals of 2022, including Towner County Medical Center and Pembina County Memorial Hospital.
Nebraska and South Dakota are joint second in the ranking, with an average wait time of 1 hour and 55 minutes in the emergency room. Both states have several Grade A and B hospitals, a score based on the overall performance of medical facilities, with A being the best possible rating.
Hawaii places third on the list, which has an average wait time of 1 hour and 56 minutes in the emergency room. Only 5.9% of Hawaii citizens aged 19-64 don’t have health insurance, this being 7% lower than the national average – and the state’s law makes it mandatory for employers to provide comprehensive insurance to staff who work a minimum of 20 hours each week.
In joint fourth place is Iowa and Oklahoma, with patients waiting an average of 1 hour and 59 minutes before leaving. According to U.S News, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is the top-ranked hospital in Iowa as well as being nationally ranked in two specialties and six children’s specialties; in Oklahoma, St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa is ranked as the best facility in the state and is high performing in 12 procedures and conditions.
Kansas takes the fifth spot, with an average wait time in the emergency room of 2 hours and 4 minutes. The state has several Grade A hospitals, including Wesley Medical Center and Saint Luke’s South Hospital.
In sixth place is Montana, with patients waiting an average of 2 hours and 7 minutes in the emergency room before leaving. U.S. News has ranked several hospitals in Montana as high-performing in different specialties, such as Billings Clinic and Providence St. Patrick Hospital.
Next on the list is Mississippi in seventh place, with an average emergency room wait time of 2 hours and 9 minutes. The average monthly cost of health insurance in the state is $521, which is a 3% decrease since last year – in fact, the Cigna Connect 4450 plan is the cheapest silver plan in 31 of Mississippi’s counties.
In joint eighth place is Idaho and Louisiana, with an average wait time of 2 hours and 12 minutes in the emergency room. Various hospitals in each of these states have been given a Grade A rating, from West Valley Medical Center to Madison Memorial Hospital in Idaho, as well as East Jefferson General Hospital and St. Bernard Parish Hospital in Louisiana.
Arkansas and Minnesota both take the ninth spot, with patients spending an average of 2 hours and 14 minutes in the emergency room before leaving. Arkansas’ Washington Regional Medical Center is rated high performing in 13 adult procedures and conditions according to U.S News; as well as this, Minnesota’s The Mayo Clinic ranked top of the list in Newsweek’s top 250 hospitals in the world.
Last on the list in tenth place is Wyoming, which has an average wait time of 2 hours and 15 minutes in the emergency room. Campbell County Memorial Hospital has the most beds of all the facilities in the state, with a total of 232 beds.
On the other hand, Maryland is revealed as the state with the longest emergency room wait time, with patients spending an average of 4 hours and 2 minutes before leaving.
A spokesperson from InjuredInFlorida.com commented: “It’s fascinating to see that the states that appear in the ranking are not from one particular region, but instead, are slightly spread out across the nation – and it’s useful for these states to see the areas in which they are thriving, which in this case is treating patients as quickly as possible, to then identify the areas within their healthcare system which may need more attention.
“For citizens of these states, the data undoubtedly offers some peace of mind knowing that their emergency room wait times are shorter than other states as well as the national average of 2 hours and 37 minutes.”
The study was conducted by InjuredInFlorida.com, a team of personal injury attorneys who have helped thousands throughout Florida obtain the maximum compensation for life-changing injuries resulting from the negligence of others.
Journo Research operates as injuredinflorida.com’s Digital PR agency.
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