ER Wait Times in Idaho: 38 Hospitals Compared
38 hospitals in Idaho report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 125.5 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 Idaho, 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 | Power County Hospital District | American Falls | 85 min (1 h 25 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Lost Rivers Medical Center | Arco | 95 min (1 h 35 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Syringa General Hospital | Grangeville | 95 min (1 h 35 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 4 | Weiser Memorial Hospital | Weiser | 97 min (1 h 37 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 5 | Bear Lake Memorial Hospital | Montpelier | 100 min (1 h 40 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 5 | St Luke's Jerome | Jerome | 100 min (1 h 40 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 7 | Boundary Community Hospital | Bonners Ferry | 102 min (1 h 42 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 7 | Caribou Medical Center | Soda Springs | 102 min (1 h 42 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 9 | Valor Health | Emmett | 105 min (1 h 45 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 10 | Minidoka Memorial Hospital | Rupert | 106 min (1 h 46 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 11 | Teton Valley Hospital | Driggs | 108 min (1 h 48 min) | Not reported | — |
| 12 | St Luke's Elmore Medical Center | Mountain Home | 112 min (1 h 52 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 13 | Mountain View Hospital | Idaho Falls | 114 min (1 h 54 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 14 | Nell J Redfield Memorial Hospital | Malad City | 115 min (1 h 55 min) | Not reported | — |
| 15 | North Canyon Medical Center | Gooding | 116 min (1 h 56 min) | Not reported | — |
| 16 | Benewah Community Hospital | Saint Maries | 119 min (1 h 59 min) | Not reported | — |
| 16 | Shoshone Medical Center | Kellogg | 119 min (1 h 59 min) | Not reported | — |
| 18 | Cassia Regional Hospital | Burley | 120 min (2 h) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 19 | Gritman Medical Center | Moscow | 122 min (2 h 2 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 20 | St Joseph Regional Medical Center | Lewiston | 129 min (2 h 9 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 21 | Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Nampa | Nampa | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 22 | West Valley Medical Center | Caldwell | 131 min (2 h 11 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 23 | Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center | Idaho Falls | 133 min (2 h 13 min) | 0% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 24 | Idaho Falls Community Hospital, LLC | Idaho Falls | 137 min (2 h 17 min) | 0% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 25 | St Luke's Wood River Medical Center | Ketchum | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 25 | St Mary's Hospital | Cottonwood | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 27 | Clearwater Valley Hospital & Clinics | Orofino | 144 min (2 h 24 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 27 | Madison Memorial Hospital | Rexburg | 144 min (2 h 24 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 29 | St Luke's McCall | McCall | 145 min (2 h 25 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 30 | Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center | Boise | 154 min (2 h 34 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 31 | St Luke's Nampa Medical Center | Nampa | 158 min (2 h 38 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 32 | Bingham Memorial Hospital | Blackfoot | 160 min (2 h 40 min) | Not reported | — |
| 33 | Bonner General Hospital | Sandpoint | 161 min (2 h 41 min) | Not reported | — |
| 34 | St Luke's Regional Medical Center | Boise | 168 min (2 h 48 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 35 | Kootenai Health | Coeur D'alene | 178 min (2 h 58 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 36 | St Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center | Twin Falls | 186 min (3 h 6 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 37 | Franklin County Medical Center | Preston | 188 min (3 h 8 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 38 | Portneuf Medical Center | Pocatello | 212 min (3 h 32 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
ER wait times by city in Idaho
Common questions
Which ER in Idaho has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Power County Hospital District had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 85 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 Idaho?
The middle value of the 38 hospitals listed here is 125.5 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.