ER Wait Times in Maryland: 40 Hospitals Compared
40 hospitals in Maryland report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 241 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 Maryland, 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 | Garrett Regional Medical Center | Oakland | 126 min (2 h 6 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Atlantic General Hospital | Berlin | 147 min (2 h 27 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 3 | Tidalhealth Peninsula Regional, Inc | Salisbury | 177 min (2 h 57 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 4 | University of MD Shore Medical Center at Easton | Easton | 179 min (2 h 59 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 5 | Walter Reed National Military Med Cen | Bethesda | 184 min (3 h 4 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 6 | University of MD Shore Medical Ctr at Chestertown | Chestertown | 185 min (3 h 5 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 7 | Calverthealth Medical Center | Prince Frederick | 194 min (3 h 14 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 8 | Adventist Healthcare Fort Washington Medical Ctr | Fort Washington | 202 min (3 h 22 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 9 | Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center | Rockville | 204 min (3 h 24 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 10 | MedStar Harbor Hospital | Baltimore | 212 min (3 h 32 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 11 | Carroll Hospital Center | Westminster | 214 min (3 h 34 min) | 0% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 12 | MedStar Union Memorial Hospital | Baltimore | 218 min (3 h 38 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 13 | Suburban Hospital | Bethesda | 224 min (3 h 44 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 14 | Greater Baltimore Medical Center | Baltimore | 228 min (3 h 48 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 14 | Union Hospital of Cecil County | Elkton | 228 min (3 h 48 min) | 6% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 16 | Frederick Health Hospital | Frederick | 230 min (3 h 50 min) | 6% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 17 | Holy Cross Germantown Hospital | Germantown | 233 min (3 h 53 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 18 | Western Maryland Regional Medical Center | Cumberland | 235 min (3 h 55 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 19 | Mercy Medical Center Inc | Baltimore | 237 min (3 h 57 min) | Not reported | — |
| 20 | Umd Upper Chesapeake Medical Center | Bel Air | 239 min (3 h 59 min) | Not reported | — |
| 21 | University of MD Medical Center Midtown Campus | Baltimore | 243 min (4 h 3 min) | Not reported | — |
| 22 | Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Inc | Annapolis | 245 min (4 h 5 min) | Not reported | — |
| 23 | University of MD Capital Region Medical Center | Upper Marlboro | 246 min (4 h 6 min) | 7% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 24 | MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital | Baltimore | 247 min (4 h 7 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 25 | Meritus Medical Center | Hagerstown | 250 min (4 h 10 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 26 | Northwest Hospital Center | Randallstown | 251 min (4 h 11 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 27 | MedStar Saint Mary's Hospital | Leonardtown | 256 min (4 h 16 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 28 | Sinai Hospital of Baltimore | Baltimore | 257 min (4 h 17 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 29 | MedStar Montgomery Medical Center | Olney | 259 min (4 h 19 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 30 | University of MD Charles Regional Medical Center | La Plata | 262 min (4 h 22 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 31 | University of MD St Joseph Medical Center | Towson | 264 min (4 h 24 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 32 | Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center | Columbia | 266 min (4 h 26 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 33 | Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Ctr, Inc | Lanham | 272 min (4 h 32 min) | Not reported | — |
| 34 | Adventist Healthcare White Oak Medical Center | Silver Spring | 296 min (4 h 56 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 35 | The Johns Hopkins Hospital | Baltimore | 308 min (5 h 8 min) | 6% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 36 | University of Maryland Medical Center | Baltimore | 309 min (5 h 9 min) | Not reported | — |
| 37 | Holy Cross Hospital | Silver Spring | 314 min (5 h 14 min) | 5% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 38 | Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center | Baltimore | 322 min (5 h 22 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 39 | MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center | Clinton | 356 min (5 h 56 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 40 | MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center | Rosedale | 367 min (6 h 7 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
ER wait times by city in Maryland
Common questions
Which ER in Maryland has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Garrett Regional Medical Center had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 126 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 Maryland?
The middle value of the 40 hospitals listed here is 241 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.