ER Wait Times in Montana: 56 Hospitals Compared
56 hospitals in Montana report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 115 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 Montana, 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 | McCone County Health Center | Circle | 70 min (1 h 10 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Billings Clinic Broadwater | Townsend | 76 min (1 h 16 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 3 | Big Sandy Medical Center | Big Sandy | 77 min (1 h 17 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 3 | Northern Rockies Medical Center | Cut Bank | 77 min (1 h 17 min) | Not reported | — |
| 5 | Phillips County Hospital - CAH | Malta | 78 min (1 h 18 min) | Not reported | — |
| 6 | Mineral Community Hospital | Superior | 84 min (1 h 24 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 6 | Prairie Community CAH | Terry | 84 min (1 h 24 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 8 | Pioneer Medical Center | Big Timber | 88 min (1 h 28 min)† | Not reported | — |
| 9 | Pondera Medical Center | Conrad | 89 min (1 h 29 min) | 4% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 9 | Poplar Community Hospital | Poplar | 89 min (1 h 29 min)† | Not reported | — |
| 11 | Benefis Teton Medical Center | Choteau | 94 min (1 h 34 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 12 | Community Hospital of Anaconda | Anaconda | 97 min (1 h 37 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 12 | Rosebud Health Care Center | Forsyth | 97 min (1 h 37 min) | Not reported | — |
| 14 | Roosevelt Medical Center | Culbertson | 100 min (1 h 40 min) | Not reported | — |
| 15 | Roundup Memorial Healthcare | Roundup | 101 min (1 h 41 min) | Not reported | — |
| 16 | Central Montana Medical Center | Lewistown | 102 min (1 h 42 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 16 | Fallon Medical Complex Hospital | Baker | 102 min (1 h 42 min)† | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 16 | Mountainview Medical Center | White Sulphur Spring | 102 min (1 h 42 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 16 | Wheatland Memorial Hospital | Harlowton | 102 min (1 h 42 min)† | Not reported | — |
| 20 | Beartooth Billings Clinic | Red Lodge | 104 min (1 h 44 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 20 | Logan Health - Shelby | Shelby | 104 min (1 h 44 min) | 5% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 22 | Daniels Memorial Hospital | Scobey | 106 min (1 h 46 min)† | Not reported | — |
| 22 | Missouri River Medical Center | Fort Benton | 106 min (1 h 46 min) | Not reported | — |
| 24 | Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center | Big Sky | 107 min (1 h 47 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 25 | St Luke Community Hospital | Ronan | 109 min (1 h 49 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 26 | Garfield County Health Center | Jordan | 112 min (1 h 52 min)† | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 27 | Stillwater Billings Clinic | Columbus | 113 min (1 h 53 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 28 | Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital | Glasgow | 114 min (1 h 54 min) | Not reported | — |
| 29 | Trinity Hospital | Wolf Point | 116 min (1 h 56 min)† | Not reported | — |
| 30 | Livingston Healthcare | Livingston | 117 min (1 h 57 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 30 | Providence St Joseph Medical Center | Polson | 117 min (1 h 57 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 32 | Cabinet Peaks Medical Center | Libby | 122 min (2 h 2 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 32 | Deer Lodge Medical Center | Deer Lodge | 122 min (2 h 2 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 32 | Glendive Medical Center | Glendive | 122 min (2 h 2 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 35 | Dahl Memorial Healthcare Association Inc | Ekalaka | 129 min (2 h 9 min)† | Not reported | — |
| 35 | Northern Montana Hospital | Havre | 129 min (2 h 9 min) | Not reported | — |
| 37 | Holy Rosary Hospital | Miles City | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 38 | Logan Health - Chester | Chester | 134 min (2 h 14 min) | Not reported | — |
| 39 | Logan Health - Whitefish | Whitefish | 135 min (2 h 15 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 40 | Madison Valley Medical Center | Ennis | 136 min (2 h 16 min) | Not reported | — |
| 41 | Community Medical Center | Missoula | 138 min (2 h 18 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 42 | Big Horn Hospital | Hardin | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 5% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 42 | Great Falls Clinic Hospital | Great Falls | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 44 | Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital | Bozeman | 142 min (2 h 22 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 45 | Barrett Hospital & Healthcare | Dillon | 145 min (2 h 25 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 46 | Clark Fork Valley Hospital | Plains | 148 min (2 h 28 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 47 | Sidney Health Center | Sidney | 152 min (2 h 32 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 48 | St James Hospital | Butte | 153 min (2 h 33 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 49 | Sheridan Memorial Hosptial | Plentywood | 157 min (2 h 37 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 50 | Intermountain Health St Vincent Regional Hospital | Billings | 158 min (2 h 38 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 51 | Bitterroot Health - Daly Hospital | Hamilton | 160 min (2 h 40 min)† | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 52 | St. Patrick Hospital | Missoula | 163 min (2 h 43 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 53 | Billings Clinic Hospital | Billings | 176 min (2 h 56 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 54 | St Peters Health | Helena | 179 min (2 h 59 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 55 | Benefis Hospitals Inc | Great Falls | 186 min (3 h 6 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 56 | Logan Health Medical Center | Kalispell | 214 min (3 h 34 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
† Medicare footnote 3: the result is based on a shorter period than required.
ER wait times by city in Montana
Common questions
Which ER in Montana has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, McCone County Health Center had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 70 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 Montana?
The middle value of the 56 hospitals listed here is 115 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.