On February 2, 2026 by Tim Sheehan, Health Care Reporting Fellow at Central Valley Journalism Collaborative
At some hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley, a visit to the emergency room can last an average of four to five hours.
A visit to a hospital emergency room is typically no walk in the park. Along with the stress of a potential medical crisis, patients know they’re likely to be there for hours to be poked, prodded, tested, perhaps taken for X-rays – and a lot of hurry-up-and-wait.
Data from the U.S. Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows that nationwide, the median duration of a visit to a hospital emergency department in 2024 – the most recent information available – was 2 hours 41 minutes. In California, the median ER visit duration was 2 hours 58 minutes…