facebook tracking Virginia ER Wait Times 2026: Shortest & Longest of 80 Hospitals

Virginia ER wait times by hospital

In an emergency, call 911. These are yearly medians, not live wait times. Don't pick an ER from this list when someone needs help now.

According to HospitalsInEachState.com's analysis of the July 2026 CMS release, the median emergency room visit in Virginia for patients treated and sent home lasts 2 hr 43 min, 15 min longer than the US median of 2 hr 28 min, across 80 reporting hospitals. Virginia ranks #34 of 50 states in the HospitalsInEachState.com State ER Wait Rankings, where #1 has the shortest visits. The shortest is at Lee County Community Hospital in Pennington Gap (1 hr 49 min) and the longest at University of Virginia Medical Center (4 hr 38 min). 6 of 80 come in under two hours and 4 take four hours or more; 27 (34%) are faster than the US median.

CMS data published July 202680 hospitals12-month medians
Virginia median 2 hr 43 min +15 min vs US US median is 2 hr 28 min
Shortest 1 hr 49 min Lee County Community Hospital, Pennington Gap
Longest 4 hr 38 min University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville
Under 2 hours 6 ERs 4 take 4 hours or more
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Report: Maryland has the longest ER visits: 4 hr 1 min at the typical hospital (Oct 25, 2026)

Fastest to slowest ER wait times in Virginia, by hospital

Times are for patients treated and sent home, not admitted. The bar shows each ER against the slowest in the state; the tick marks the Virginia median.

How to read this list

Each time is the median for a full year, so half of visits were shorter and half longer. Busy hospitals treat sicker patients, so a longer time is not by itself a mark against a hospital. "Left before seen" is the share of patients who walked out before a clinician saw them. How this measure works.

Showing the 25 shortest of 80 hospitals

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ER wait times in Virginia's largest cities

Median visit time across the hospitals listed in each city. Open a city's page, or filter the list above.

CityERsMedianShortest in the city
Virginia Beach 2 2 hr 25 min Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital · 2 hr 5 min
Fredericksburg 2 2 hr 28 min Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center · 2 hr
Richmond 6 2 hr 40 min Bon Secours - Richmond Community Hospital · 1 hr 51 min
Alexandria 2 2 hr 43 min Inova Mount Vernon Hospital · 2 hr 30 min
Norfolk 2 2 hr 56 min Sentara Leigh Hospital · 2 hr 48 min
Portsmouth 2 2 hr 58 min Bon Secours - Maryview Medical Center · 2 hr 44 min
Charlottesville 2 3 hr 29 min Martha Jefferson Hospital · 2 hr 20 min
Newport News 2 3 hr 30 min Mary Immaculate Hospital · 2 hr 54 min

Questions about Virginia ER wait times

Which Virginia ER has the shortest wait?

Lee County Community Hospital in Pennington Gap, with a median visit of 1 hr 49 min. Dickenson Community Hospital in Clintwood is next at 1 hr 49 min.

Which Virginia ER has the longest wait?

University of Virginia Medical Center, at 4 hr 38 min. The busiest emergency departments tend to have the longest visits because they treat more patients and more complex cases.

How long is the average ER visit in Virginia?

The median is 2 hr 43 min, 15 min longer than the US median of 2 hr 28 min. 6 of 80 Virginia ERs come in under two hours and 4 take four hours or more.

Are these live wait times?

No. They are 12-month medians for patients who were treated and sent home, published by CMS. They show what is typical, not what is happening tonight. In an emergency, call 911.

Why are big hospitals slower?

Low-volume Virginia ERs have a median visit of 2 hr 17 min. High and very-high-volume ERs come in at 2 hr 50 min. Large hospitals see more patients and sicker ones, and many are trauma centers.

ER wait times in neighboring states

Cite this data

Journalists, researchers and site owners are welcome to quote and chart these figures. They are free to use under CC BY 4.0: please credit HospitalsInEachState.com and link to this page.

Figures as of the July 2026 CMS release Updated automatically when CMS publishes new data Permanent link: hospitalsineachstate.com/er-wait-times/virginia/

Download the data (CSV) See the State ER Wait Rankings

Source: CMS Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting, measure OP-18b (median time from ED arrival to departure for discharged patients), published July 2026. Updated when CMS publishes new data.

Hospitals with too few cases to report are not listed; they still have a page in the Virginia hospital directory. Campuses that CMS reports under one facility number appear once. Not affiliated with CMS.