ER Wait Times in Alabama: 77 Hospitals Compared
77 hospitals in Alabama report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 148 minutes; national (Medicare): 162 minutes.
What this time means
Each hospital’s number is Medicare measure OP-18b: the median (middle) time from arriving at the emergency room to leaving it, for patients who were treated and went home. Half of these patients left sooner, half later. It is not the time before seeing a doctor, and it leaves out patients who were admitted to the hospital, transferred, or seen for mental health.
Medicare’s name for the measure: “Average (median) time patients spent in the emergency department before leaving from the visit, excluding patients transferred to another facility or psychiatric care/mental health patients. A lower number of minutes is better”. Patients seen October 2024 to September 2025.
Emergency rooms in Alabama, shortest time first
Ranked by Medicare's median time (OP-18b), shortest first; hospitals with the same time share a rank. Left without being seen: share of ER patients who left before a doctor or nurse saw them (January 2024 to December 2024; national 2%). ER volume: patients per year, as Medicare groups it.
| # | Hospital | City | Median time in the ER | Left without being seen | ER volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wiregrass Medical Center | Geneva | 59 min† | Not reported | — |
| 2 | Clay County Hospital | Ashland | 91 min (1 h 31 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 3 | Tanner Medical Center-East Alabama | Wedowee | 96 min (1 h 36 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 4 | Hale County Hospital | Greensboro | 100 min (1 h 40 min) | 4% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 5 | Russellville Hospital | Russellville | 101 min (1 h 41 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 6 | North Alabama Shoals Hospital | Muscle Shoals | 103 min (1 h 43 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 7 | Community Hospital Inc | Tallassee | 104 min (1 h 44 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 7 | Marion Regional Medical Center | Hamilton | 104 min (1 h 44 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 9 | Crenshaw Community Hospital | Luverne | 108 min (1 h 48 min)† | Not reported | — |
| 10 | Elmore Community Hospital | Wetumpka | 110 min (1 h 50 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 11 | Troy Regional Medical Center | Troy | 112 min (1 h 52 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 12 | Fayette Medical Center | Fayette | 113 min (1 h 53 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 13 | The Health Care Authority of the City of Greenville- LV Stabler Hospital | Greenville | 115 min (1 h 55 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 14 | Lake Martin Community Hospital | Dadeville | 116 min (1 h 56 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 15 | Citizens Baptist Medical Center | Talladega | 118 min (1 h 58 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 15 | Evergreen Medical Center | Evergreen | 118 min (1 h 58 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 17 | Ochsner Choctaw General | Butler | 119 min (1 h 59 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 17 | Whitfield Regional Hospital | Demopolis | 119 min (1 h 59 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 19 | Floyd Cherokee Medical Center | Centre | 123 min (2 h 3 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 20 | Coosa Valley Medical Center | Sylacauga | 124 min (2 h 4 min) | 0% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 20 | Jackson Medical Center | Jackson | 124 min (2 h 4 min) | 6% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 22 | Atmore Community Hospital | Atmore | 126 min (2 h 6 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 23 | Greene County Hospital | Eutaw | 128 min (2 h 8 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 24 | Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital | Phenix City | 129 min (2 h 9 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 25 | Bibb Medical Center | Centreville | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 25 | Mizell Memorial Hospital | Opp | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 25 | North Mississippi Health Services - South Marion | Winfield | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 4% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 28 | Red Bay Hospital | Red Bay | 131 min (2 h 11 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 29 | St Vincents Blount | Oneonta | 132 min (2 h 12 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 30 | Jackson Hospital & Clinic Inc | Montgomery | 138 min (2 h 18 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 30 | Russell Medical Center | Alexander City | 138 min (2 h 18 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 32 | Baldwin Health | Foley | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 33 | Hill Hospital of Sumter County | York | 141 min (2 h 21 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 34 | Medical Center Enterprise | Enterprise | 142 min (2 h 22 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 35 | Marshall Medical Centers | Boaz | 143 min (2 h 23 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 36 | Medical West, An Affiliate of UAB Health System | Bessemer | 147 min (2 h 27 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 36 | North Alabama Medical Center | Florence | 147 min (2 h 27 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 36 | Springhill Medical Center | Mobile | 147 min (2 h 27 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 39 | Dale Medical Center | Ozark | 148 min (2 h 28 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 40 | Cullman Regional Medical Center | Cullman | 152 min (2 h 32 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 41 | St Vincent's St Clair | Pell City | 154 min (2 h 34 min) | Not reported | — |
| 42 | Riverview Regional Medical Center | Gadsden | 155 min (2 h 35 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 42 | Walker Baptist Medical Center | Jasper | 155 min (2 h 35 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 44 | Medical Center Barbour | Eufaula | 157 min (2 h 37 min) | 8% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 45 | Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital | Birmingham | 158 min (2 h 38 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 45 | St. Vincent's East | Birmingham | 158 min (2 h 38 min) | Not reported | — |
| 47 | Decatur Morgan Hospital - Decatur Campus | Decatur | 160 min (2 h 40 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 48 | Crestwood Medical Center | Huntsville | 164 min (2 h 44 min) | 0% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 48 | Dekalb Regional Medical Center | Fort Payne | 164 min (2 h 44 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 48 | Princeton Baptist Medical Center | Birmingham | 164 min (2 h 44 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 48 | St Vincent's Chilton | Clanton | 164 min (2 h 44 min) | Not reported | — |
| 48 | Vaughan Regional Medical Center Parkway Campus | Selma | 164 min (2 h 44 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 53 | D W McMillan Memorial Hospital | Brewton | 166 min (2 h 46 min) | 4% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 53 | Grove Hill Memorial Hospital | Grove Hill | 166 min (2 h 46 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 55 | Andalusia Health | Andalusia | 172 min (2 h 52 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 56 | Grandview Medical Center | Birmingham | 174 min (2 h 54 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 57 | Highlands Medical Center | Scottsboro | 176 min (2 h 56 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 58 | Athens Limestone Hospital | Athens | 178 min (2 h 58 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 59 | North Baldwin Infirmary | Bay Minette | 180 min (3 h) | 4% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 60 | Shelby Baptist Medical Center | Alabaster | 182 min (3 h 2 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 61 | Mobile Infirmary Medical Center | Mobile | 185 min (3 h 5 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 62 | Helen Keller Hospital | Sheffield | 188 min (3 h 8 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 62 | Thomas Hospital | Fairhope | 188 min (3 h 8 min) | 5% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 64 | The East Alabama Healthcare Authority | Opelika | 200 min (3 h 20 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 65 | Gadsden Regional Medical Center | Gadsden | 201 min (3 h 21 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 66 | Prattville Baptist Hospital | Prattville | 204 min (3 h 24 min) | 6% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 67 | University of Alabama Hospital | Birmingham | 211 min (3 h 31 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 67 | USA Health University Hospital | Mobile | 211 min (3 h 31 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 69 | Southeast Health Medical Center | Dothan | 212 min (3 h 32 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 69 | USA Health HCA Providence Hospital, LLC | Mobile | 212 min (3 h 32 min) | 6% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 71 | Baptist Medical Center South | Montgomery | 220 min (3 h 40 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 72 | Flowers Hospital | Dothan | 227 min (3 h 47 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 73 | DCH Regional Medical Center | Tuscaloosa | 237 min (3 h 57 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 74 | Huntsville Hospital | Huntsville | 238 min (3 h 58 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 75 | Baptist Medical Center East | Montgomery | 239 min (3 h 59 min) | 6% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 76 | St Vincent's Birmingham | Birmingham | 243 min (4 h 3 min) | Not reported | — |
| 77 | Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center | Anniston | 244 min (4 h 4 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
† Medicare footnote 3: the result is based on a shorter period than required.
ER wait times by city in Alabama
Common questions
Which ER in Alabama has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Wiregrass Medical Center had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 59 minutes. This is the total time of the visit, not the time before seeing a doctor, and it is an average of past patients, not a promise for your visit.
What is the average ER wait time in Alabama?
The middle value of the 77 hospitals listed here is 148 minutes. The national figure published by Medicare is 162 minutes. Each hospital's number is the median time from arriving at the emergency room to leaving it, for patients who were treated and went home.
Should I drive to a farther ER to wait less?
No. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. These times are past averages; emergency rooms see the sickest patients first, and minutes lost on the road can matter more than minutes in a waiting room.
Does a shorter time mean a better emergency room?
Not by itself. Busier emergency rooms and hospitals that treat more serious cases usually have longer times, so the ER volume is shown next to each time. The time is one measure among many on each hospital’s page.
Sources and dates
- Timely and Effective Care - Hospital — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), data updated July 22, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026. Times: patients seen October 2024 to September 2025; left without being seen: January 2024 to December 2024.
- Timely and Effective Care - National — CMS, data updated July 22, 2026 (the national figures).
Only open hospitals that list an emergency room and report this time are included. The state and city figures are the median of the hospitals listed, calculated by us from the same CMS hospital file. Wording last revised November 11, 2026. Not medical advice.