EMF, an electronic medical records site, analyzed data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services covering 4,017 hospitals and 137 million emergency department visits for the federal reporting window of 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
In Florida, the average emergency room visit lasts 2 hours 44 minutes, the 37th longest of the 50 states.
Patients in a mental health crisis wait 4 hours 27 minutes there, 1 hour 43 minutes longer than everyone else, and discharged patients in Florida spend eight minutes longer in the emergency room than they did in 2019.
Of the 174 hospitals in the state, the longest typical visit is 4 hours 34 minutes at Gulf Coast Medical Center Lee Health in Fort Myers, and the shortest is 1 hour 39 minutes at Lake Butler Hospital in Lake Butler.
The five longest emergency department visits in Florida:
Top of the list was Gulf Coast Medical Center Lee Health in Fort Myers, with a median time in the emergency room of 4 hours 34 minutes
Number 2 was UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, with a median time in the emergency room of 4 hours 1 minute.
In 3rd was Baptist Hospital of Miami, with a median time in the emergency room of 3 hours 56 minutes
4th was Homestead Hospital, with a median time in the emergency room of 3 hours 55 minutes
And ranked 5th was Tampa General Hospital, with their median time in the emergency room at 3 hours 54 minutes.
The five shortest emergency department visits in Florida:
In 1st place was Lake Butler Hospital in Lake Butler, with a median emergency room visit time of 1 hour 39 minutes.
In 2nd place was HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital, part of HCA Florida, in Saint Petersburg. Their median time in the emergency room was 1 hour 41 minutes.
In 3rd was HCA Florida North Florida Hospital, Gainesville, with a median time in the emergency room was also 1 hour and 41 minutes.
4th place was HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital out of Orange Park, Fl. Their median time in the emergency room was 1 hour and 42 minutes
Number 5 was St. Lucie Medical Center in Port Saint Lucie. Their median time in the emergency room was 1 hour 44 minutes.
