ER Wait Times in South Carolina: 51 Hospitals Compared
51 hospitals in South Carolina report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 160 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 South Carolina, 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 | Edgefield County Healthcare An Affiliate of Self R… | Edgefield | 80 min (1 h 20 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Roper Hospital | Charleston | 96 min (1 h 36 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 3 | Newberry County Memorial Hospital | Newberry | 110 min (1 h 50 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 4 | MUSC Health Marion Medical Center | Mullins | 118 min (1 h 58 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 5 | Cannon Memorial Hospital | Pickens | 120 min (2 h) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 6 | Colleton Medical Center | Walterboro | 124 min (2 h 4 min) | 0% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 7 | Trident Medical Center | Charleston | 126 min (2 h 6 min) | 0% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 8 | Abbeville Area Medical Center | Abbeville | 128 min (2 h 8 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 9 | Coastal Carolina Hospital | Hardeeville | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 0% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 9 | Grand Strand Regional Medical Center | Myrtle Beach | 130 min (2 h 10 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 11 | Mount Pleasant Hospital | Mount Pleasant | 132 min (2 h 12 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 12 | Conway Medical Center | Conway | 134 min (2 h 14 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 12 | MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown | Columbia | 134 min (2 h 14 min) | 0% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 12 | MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center | Lancaster | 134 min (2 h 14 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 15 | McLeod Health Cheraw | Cheraw | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 15 | Roper St Francis Hospital-Berkeley Inc | Summerville | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 17 | Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center | Hartsville | 142 min (2 h 22 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 18 | Novant Health East Cooper Medical Center | Mount Pleasant | 143 min (2 h 23 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 19 | MUSC Health Chester Medical Center | Chester | 148 min (2 h 28 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 19 | Prisma Health Laurens County Hospital | Clinton | 148 min (2 h 28 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 21 | Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital | Georgetown | 151 min (2 h 31 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 22 | Bon Secours-St Francis Xavier Hospital | Charleston | 153 min (2 h 33 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 22 | Prisma Health Baptist | Columbia | 153 min (2 h 33 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 24 | Union Medical Center | Union | 155 min (2 h 35 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 25 | Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital | Seneca | 156 min (2 h 36 min) | 0% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 26 | Kershawhealth | Camden | 160 min (2 h 40 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 27 | Cherokee Medical Center | Gaffney | 161 min (2 h 41 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 28 | Aiken Regional Medical Center | Aiken | 162 min (2 h 42 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 28 | Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge | Columbia | 162 min (2 h 42 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 30 | St Francis-Downtown | Greenville | 163 min (2 h 43 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 31 | Novant Health Hilton Head Medical Center | Hilton Head Island | 166 min (2 h 46 min) | 0% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 32 | McLeod Medical Center - Dillon | Dillon | 170 min (2 h 50 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 32 | Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital | Sumter | 170 min (2 h 50 min) | 6% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 34 | Prisma Health Hillcrest Hospital | Simpsonville | 175 min (2 h 55 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 35 | MUSC Health Florence Medical Center | Florence | 176 min (2 h 56 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 36 | Pelham Medical Center | Greer | 177 min (2 h 57 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 37 | Hampton Regional Medical Center | Varnville | 178 min (2 h 58 min) | 4% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 37 | Prisma Health Baptist Easley Hospital | Easley | 178 min (2 h 58 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 37 | Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital | Murrells Inlet | 178 min (2 h 58 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 40 | Spartanburg Medical Center | Spartanburg | 179 min (2 h 59 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 41 | Piedmont Medical Center | Rock Hill | 184 min (3 h 4 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 42 | Self Regional Healthcare | Greenwood | 199 min (3 h 19 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 43 | MUSC Medical Center | Charleston | 205 min (3 h 25 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 44 | Prisma Health Greer Memorial Hospital | Greer | 208 min (3 h 28 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 45 | McLeod Health Clarendon | Manning | 212 min (3 h 32 min) | 8% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 46 | Beaufort County Memorial Hospital | Beaufort | 221 min (3 h 41 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 47 | Lexington Medical Center | West Columbia | 223 min (3 h 43 min) | 10% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 48 | Prisma Health Richland Hospital | Columbia | 225 min (3 h 45 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 49 | Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital | Greenville | 234 min (3 h 54 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 50 | McLeod Regional Medical Center-Pee Dee | Florence | 238 min (3 h 58 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 51 | Anmed Health | Anderson | 246 min (4 h 6 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
ER wait times by city in South Carolina
Common questions
Which ER in South Carolina has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Edgefield County Healthcare An Affiliate of Self R… had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 80 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 South Carolina?
The middle value of the 51 hospitals listed here is 160 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.