DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — Action News is digging into the wait times in emergency rooms at some of the busiest hospitals in Jacksonville after a woman was arrested for setting off the sprinklers after getting frustrated with her wait time in a North Carolina hospital.
Record with Medicare revealed UF Health Jacksonville has some of the longest wait times.
A spokesperson for UF Health said the hospital has one of the busiest emergency rooms in the region and serves around 90,000 emergency room cases a year.
Action News learned the average time people wait in an emergency room before seeing a health care professional at UF Health is 58 minutes which is more than double the national average of 24 minutes.
“Something has to be done to improve the emergency room,” UF Health patient Herbert Nelson said. “I can sit up there. It’s 2 o’clock. I won’t come out of there until 12.”
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UF Health emergency room patient Mary Byrd said she believes the doctors do the best they can to keep up with the high demand.
“I thank God for those doctors,” Byrd said. “They do everything they can do for you."
A spokesperson for UF Health released this statement: "Our goal is to treat every patient as quickly and thoroughly as possible; however, many factors go into how much time a patient spends in an emergency room, from their diagnosis to the number of other people waiting for treatment... Despite the challenges, we are confident we always give the best treatment possible in the most effective way and focus significant resources on the most critically ill and injured, ensuring that those patients are seen immediately."
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The average wait time for people waiting to see a healthcare professional in an emergency room at Baptist Hospital in Jacksonville is 34 minutes.
"Baptist Health plays a vital role in meeting the emergency needs of our community, caring for more than 300,000 patients a year," a spokesperson for Baptist Hospital said. "Our goal is always to provide the fastest possible access to high-quality emergency care, and our door-to-treatment times for stroke and heart care meet or exceed national standards. We are continually enhancing our ER services, not only streamlining processes but also adding capacity."
Orange Park Medical Center and Memorial Hospital have shorter wait times than the national average with waits under 20 minutes each.
"Memorial continually strives to minimize our ER wait times and we're proud to consistently beat the national average, while still delivering high-quality care," a spokesperson for Memorial Hospital said. "For several years now we have posted our average ER wait times. This information, which can be found on our website, several of our billboards and through text messaging, is updated every 30 minutes giving people the up-to-date information they want to know about our three ER locations."
Patients with broken bones waiting for pain medications wait an average of 80 minutes at UF Health and 67 minutes at Baptist Medical Center on Prudential Drive. Patients at Memorial Hospital wait 56 minutes and those at Orange Park Medical Center wait 54 minutes. The national average wait time is 54 minutes.