The University Medical Center New Orleans, a clinical partner of the Tulane University School of Medicine, has the highest average emergency room wait time in Louisiana, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

On average, patients spent over six hours each visit to the ER in February 2026. The wait time is about 50% higher than that of the second-highest hospital, Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport.

Patients at other hospitals with the longest waiting times in Louisiana can expect to spend about three and a half hours in the ER. In hospitals along the Gulf Coast, the ER wait time is between two and three hours.

Florida ranks first among Gulf Coast states for longest ER wait times, with an average wait time of about two hours and 35 minutes.

Louisiana ranks fourth for wait times, with an average of two hours and 15 minutes. The ER wait time at University Medical Center is 2.68 times higher than the statewide average. This may be partly due to UMC being the only Level 1 Trauma Center, Verified Burn Center and Comprehensive Stroke Center.

CMS also found that the wait times at University Medical Center for psychiatric cases are more than twice as high as at other hospitals. For all New Orleans hospitals that reported both averages to CMS, mental health and psychiatric patients spent a longer time in the ER in comparison to standard cases.

Local health systems are trying to address this issue.

According to an August 2025 report by the American Medical Association, Ochsner Health, the Louisiana-based health system, launched a virtual emergency department called OvED in the fall of 2024.

The solution connects patients remotely with a certified emergency physician and a care coordinator. The program sees around 44 patients a day, and roughly 70% avoid the emergency department entirely. OvED is currently serving Greater New Orleans, the North and South Shores and Baton Rouge, and is expected to expand statewide.