Need to visit an emergency room in Delaware? Well, get cozy. Delaware has one of the longest emergency room waiting times in the country.
Delaware is the state with the second longest emergency room waiting time in the nation, according to a study conducted by medical expert Med.ro that compiled data from Johns Hopkins Medicine, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services, KFF and Definite Healthcare.
The study defines the average waiting time as the time it takes for a patient to be called for treatment after arriving at the emergency room.
Delaware’s emergency room waiting time of 215 minutes (three hours and 35 minutes) puts it 70 minutes past the national average, tied with Massachusetts.
Which states have the longest emergency room waiting times?
Maryland is No. 1 with an emergency room waiting time of 239 minutes.
The rest of the top 10 states with the longest emergency room waiting times, excluding Delaware and Maryland, include:
- Rhode Island at No. 3 with an average waiting time of 213 minutes.
- New York at No. 4 with an average waiting time of 201 minutes.
- Arizona at No. 5 with an average waiting time of 195 minutes.
- New Jersey at No. 6 with an average waiting time of 191 minutes.
- Connecticut at No. 7 with an average waiting time of of 181 minutes.
- California at No. 8 with an average waiting time of 177 minutes, tied with Pennsylvania.
- Virginia at No. 9 with an average waiting time of 174 minutes.
- Illinois at No. 10 with an average waiting time of 172 minutes.
Which states have the shortest emergency room waiting times?
The state with the shortest emergency room waiting time is North Dakota with 108 minutes.
The rest of the top 10 states with the shortest emergency room waiting times include:
- Nebraska at No. 2 with an average waiting time of 114 minutes.
- South Dakota at No. 3 with an average waiting time of 116 minutes.
- Hawaii at No. 4 with an average waiting time of 118 minutes.
- Iowa at No. 5 with an average waiting time of 119 minutes.
- Oklahoma at No. 6 with an average waiting time of of 121 minutes.
- Kansas at No. 7 with an average waiting time of 123 minutes, tied with Idaho.
- Montano at No. 8 with an average waiting time of 126 minutes.
- Mississippi at No. 9 with an average waiting time of 129 minutes.
- Louisiana at No. 10 with an average waiting time of 132 minutes.
Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys’tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.
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