You Could Heal in the Time it Takes to See a Doctor in a Connecticut ER

I've read about the staff shortages in the medical field in the U.S. but I didn't know how bad it was until recently.

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We've all read the news and heard the warnings about how understaffed America's hospitals are but until you see it up-close you cannot fathom how desperate the situation is. Recently, I had to take my wife to the ER twice in the space of three days and I was astonished at how long it took.

It's not just one of my "observations" there is data to back this up and it's particularly bad in Connecticut. A law firm that specializes in these matters called High Rise Financial just released the results of a study they did about this. They wanted to find out how each state in the country compared to the others for ER wait times. What they found is some really scary news about the Nutmeg State.

According to the study results, the longest emergency room wait times are in Maryland with an average median total of 247 minutes. Things are not much better here in CT, we were ranked #8 in the country with an average median of 186 minutes.

Here are the Top 10:

1. Maryland - 247 minutes

2. Massachusetts - 214 minutes

3. Rhode Island - 214 minutes

4. Delaware - 211 minutes

5. New York - 202 minutes

6. New Jersey - 194 minutes

7. Arizona - 190 minutes

8. Connecticut - 186 minutes

9. Vermont - 183 minutes

10. California - 182 minutes

In response to the findings, a spokesperson for High Rise Financial said:
“This data offers a fascinating insight into the varying wait times that patients can expect in an emergency room depending on where they are in the country. Prolonged wait times in emergency departments can have serious consequences for patient outcomes, and the difference in timings is considerable, with some states at the top of the list seeing a median time spent in the ER that is more than double that of the states with the shortest time.”

As I said, a couple months back I had to take my wife Erica to the ER twice in three days. The first time we went to Danbury and the second time we went to New Milford. Both times we waited in excess of two hours and I could not believe my eyes. Thankfully, we'd not been to the ER in at least 5 years so we did not know what to expect. I saw people in absolute agony that had to sit and ride it out for such a long time. It was a really scary and eye-opening experience.

While we were waiting I pointed out to my wife that she may be healed before we see a doctor, she did not find this funny. I'm pretty sure the 30 other people in extreme pain didn't dig this comment either.

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