ED wait times as posted on our home page are approximate and provided for informational purposes only. If you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1.
Mercy’s ED wait times are based on an electronic tracking system that averages the time from a patient’s arrival at the reception desk to when he or she is seen by a medical provider (physician or physician assistant). Our average wait times are updated hourly.
We use a triage system to prioritize incoming patients and identify those who cannot wait to be seen.
When a patient arrives in Mercy’s ED he or she is seen by a triage nurse, who utilizes a five-level Emergency Severity Index to categorize patients based on how sick or injured they are, from level one (most urgent) to level five (least urgent). All patients, whether they come in by ambulance or on their own, are triaged in the same way.



