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MURRAY -- A new survey conducted by Press Ganey Associates, Inc., shows it takes longer to get in and out of an emergency room in Utah than anywhere else in the country.
The survey found the average length of stay is six hours and 48 minutes, compared to the national average of four hours and three minutes.
"Unfortunately, it's just a handful of emergency rooms in the state and none of the Intermountain emergency rooms were included in it. So, I don't think it is a true barometer of what's happening as far as length of stay goes in emergency rooms in the state of Utah," spokeswoman Lisa Bagley said.
The average length of stay in the emergency room at Intermountain Medical Center is just over three hours, less than half of what the survey claims is the average.
A University Hospital spokeswoman says the average length of stay there is four to six hours. But in an effort to shorten the wait time, patients are evaluated by a doctor within the first 10 to 15 minutes to sort out who needs to be seen first.
"At MountainStar hospitals we see patients within 2 to 12 minutes after arrival and assess their medical needs," MountainStar spokesperson Audrey Glasby wrote in an e-mail to KSL.
Wait times go up and down depending on the severity of the injury or illness and how busy the hospitals are.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
