How long is the average patient emergency room wait?

You'll usually wait 2 to 6 hours at a teaching hospital emergency department before being treated for non–life-or-death emergencies, according to data. For a possible heart attack or stroke, you'll likely get quicker treatment at a large teaching hospital than at a smaller community hospital if you're lucky enough to have the choice. And if you show up at an emergency department with a problem that's obviously not an emergency—which many people do—there will probably be a race between what comes first: your name being called, or the next Ice Age.