Community Corner

How Long is the ER Wait at Nearby Hospitals?

New Medicare database shows how hospitals across serving the Chicago area — and the rest of the nation — compare for care. Wait times at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital are slightly less than the state average.

If you go to the emergency room at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, how long will it take before you see a healthcare professional?

The federal government says 27 minutes on average, six minutes less than the state average according to a new database causing some hospital officials nationwide to cringe.

At nearby Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, the average ER wait time is 222 minutes, while at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, patients can expect to wait 66 minutes, which is double the state and national average.

Find out what's happening in Lake Forest-Lake Bluffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Key measures of ER efficiency have been posted from hospitals taking part across the country (not every hospital reported data), according to a report by Cheryl Clark, now senior quality editor for HealthLeaders Media.

“With precious little fanfare, Uncle Sam...rolled out a big, fat database with seven measures comparing a service that many people — healthcare providers and patients alike — consider the most critical any hospital can provide,” Clark wrote.

Find out what's happening in Lake Forest-Lake Bluffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Data collected in 2011 and early 2012 also tracked things like how long it took for an ER patient with a broken bone to get pain medication, or how long the wait was to get a bed, if they needed admission. Other data showed how long patients spent in the ER before being sent home and whether they received a brain scan if they might have suffered a stroke. If even asked questions about how clean the bathrooms are.

You can use Patch's interactive map and search tool to get the numbers of more than 70 hospitals in the greater Chicago area. Our search tool also allows you to search by hospital name, county or city.

For even more data on local hospitals, visit the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare website.


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