ER Wait Times in Connecticut: 25 Hospitals Compared
25 hospitals in Connecticut report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 198 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 Connecticut, 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 | Sharon Hospital | Sharon | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Lawrence & Memorial Hospital | New London | 131 min (2 h 11 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 3 | Windham Community Memorial Hospital | Willimantic | 138 min (2 h 18 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 4 | Bridgeport Hospital | Bridgeport | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 5 | Charlotte Hungerford Hospital | Torrington | 147 min (2 h 27 min) | 0% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 6 | Middlesex Hospital | Middletown | 159 min (2 h 39 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 7 | Griffin Hospital | Derby | 165 min (2 h 45 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 8 | The Hospital of Central Connecticut | New Britain | 173 min (2 h 53 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 9 | William W Backus Hospital | Norwich | 174 min (2 h 54 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 10 | Greenwich Hospital Association - | Greenwich | 176 min (2 h 56 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 11 | Johnson Memorial Hospital | Stafford Springs | 182 min (3 h 2 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 12 | Bristol Hospital | Bristol | 190 min (3 h 10 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 13 | Yale-New Haven Hospital | New Haven | 198 min (3 h 18 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 14 | Norwalk Hospital | Norwalk | 200 min (3 h 20 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 14 | Stamford Hospital | Stamford | 200 min (3 h 20 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 16 | Danbury Hospital | Danbury | 209 min (3 h 29 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 17 | Midstate Medical Center | Meriden | 220 min (3 h 40 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 18 | Day Kimball Hospital | Putnam | 221 min (3 h 41 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 19 | Manchester Memorial Hospital | Manchester | 223 min (3 h 43 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 20 | Waterbury Hospital | Waterbury | 227 min (3 h 47 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 21 | St Vincent's Medical Center | Bridgeport | 228 min (3 h 48 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 22 | John Dempsey Hospital of the University of Connect… | Farmington | 246 min (4 h 6 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 23 | Saint Mary's Hospital | Waterbury | 249 min (4 h 9 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 24 | Hartford Hospital | Hartford | 269 min (4 h 29 min) | 0% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 25 | St Francis Hospital & Medical Center | Hartford | 275 min (4 h 35 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
ER wait times by city in Connecticut
Common questions
Which ER in Connecticut has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Sharon Hospital had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 130 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 Connecticut?
The middle value of the 25 hospitals listed here is 198 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.