CT hospital ED wait times are 4th highest among states, Patient “boarding” to blame
At 191 minutes, the average (median) wait time at Connecticut’s hospital emergency departments (EDs) was tied with New York for 4th worst among states. Maryland was the highest at 247 minutes. The data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) covers April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025.
According to CT Public Radio, the cause isn’t too many people using the ED for non-emergency issues. The problem is that many “boarding” patients, who are waiting for care in another part of the hospital, are left to wait in the ED, often on a bed in a hallway. According to CT Public, “Doctors say overcrowding in the ER is a public health crisis that can result in delays in care, missed diagnosis, harm to patients and even death.”
A December 2024 report by a state taskforce of Connecticut hospital clinicians recommended measuring transfer times from EDs, creating ED discharge units to improve the process, a plan to lesson wait times at each hospital, and protections for staff when EDs become over-crowded.
There were over 1.6 million ED visits to Connecticut hospitals in Fiscal Year 2024, just under 1% higher than the year before, surpassing pre-COVID levels.
With 231,797 ED visits, Yale-New Haven had the highest number among CT hospitals in 2024, by far. Yale-New Haven’s ED total was more than the next two highest hospitals, Hartford and Bridgeport hospitals, combined. With 12,817 ED visits, Sharon had the lowest level.
