ER Wait Times in Maine: 30 Hospitals Compared
30 hospitals in Maine report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 156 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 Maine, 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 | Northern Light C A Dean Hospital | Greenville | 86 min (1 h 26 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Rumford Hospital | Rumford | 104 min (1 h 44 min)† | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 3 | Bridgton Hospital | Bridgton | 118 min (1 h 58 min)† | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 3 | Northern Light Blue Hill Memorial Hospital | Blue Hill | 118 min (1 h 58 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 5 | MaineHealth Stephens Hospital | Norway | 125 min (2 h 5 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 6 | Penobscot Valley Hospital | Lincoln | 127 min (2 h 7 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 7 | Redington Fairview General Hospital | Skowhegan | 128 min (2 h 8 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 8 | Mount Desert Island Hospital | Bar Harbor | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 9 | St Mary's Regional Medical Center | Lewiston | 135 min (2 h 15 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 10 | Northern Maine Medical Center | Fort Kent | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | Not reported | — |
| 11 | Cary Medical Center | Caribou | 141 min (2 h 21 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 12 | Lincolnhealth | Damariscotta | 144 min (2 h 24 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 12 | Northern Light Mayo Hospital | Dover Foxcroft | 144 min (2 h 24 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 14 | MaineHealth Waldo Hospital | Belfast | 152 min (2 h 32 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 15 | Calais Community Hospital | Calais | 154 min (2 h 34 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 16 | MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital | Rockport | 158 min (2 h 38 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 17 | York Hospital | York | 166 min (2 h 46 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 18 | MaineHealth Franklin Hospital | Farmington | 170 min (2 h 50 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 19 | St Joseph Hospital | Bangor | 186 min (3 h 6 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 20 | Maine General Medical Center | Augusta | 187 min (3 h 7 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 20 | Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital | Pittsfield | 187 min (3 h 7 min) | 7% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 22 | Houlton Regional Hospital | Houlton | 194 min (3 h 14 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 23 | Down East Community Hospital | Machias | 195 min (3 h 15 min) | 5% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 24 | MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital | Brunswick | 196 min (3 h 16 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 25 | Northern Light A R Gould Hospital | Presque Isle | 200 min (3 h 20 min) | 5% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 26 | Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital | Ellsworth | 206 min (3 h 26 min) | 5% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 27 | MaineHealth Maine Medical Center | Portland | 207 min (3 h 27 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 28 | Northern Light Mercy Hospital | Portland | 208 min (3 h 28 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 29 | Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center | Bangor | 219 min (3 h 39 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 30 | Central Maine Medical Center | Lewiston | 253 min (4 h 13 min)† | 6% | High (40,000–59,999) |
† Medicare footnote 3: the result is based on a shorter period than required.
ER wait times by city in Maine
Common questions
Which ER in Maine has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Northern Light C A Dean Hospital had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 86 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 Maine?
The middle value of the 30 hospitals listed here is 156 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.