Every Minute Matters at Northwest Healthcare’s Emergency Departments
10/17/2025
Shorter ER wait times help patients get the care they need, faster
TUCSON, AZ (Oct. 17, 2025) – When health emergencies happen, patients and their families often turn to the emergency department (ED) for prompt medical attention. Over the course of thousands of patient encounters in our EDs each year, Northwest Healthcare delivers medically necessary, life-saving patient care, while prioritizing short wait times. Our goal: To connect every patient with a medical professional for timely assessment and treatment.
ED wait times can be an indicator of hospital efficiency and patient experience, and is one of the quality indicators measured for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) star ratings. While CMS measures the total time a patient spends in the ER, the first step at Northwest Healthcare is to be evaluated by a physician, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner.
“No one wants to spend hours waiting in the ED when they aren’t feeling well, and we are continuously evaluating and refining our processes, staffing and communications to get patients timely care,” said Dr. Adam Edwards, an emergency medicine physician at Northwest Medical Center Houghton. “We will always treat the most critical emergencies as soon as necessary, but our goal is for every patient to be seen in the shortest time possible.”
When considering whether to visit the ED rather than an urgent care facility or primary care provider, it’s important to remember that EDs typically treat life-threatening situations that need immediate attention in a hospital setting, such as heart attack symptoms, stroke symptoms, difficulty breathing, severe allergic reactions, and uncontrollable bleeding. Urgent care centers are an option when quick treatment is needed for something which is not a medical emergency – for example, sprains and strains, low-grade fever, and mild flu or cold symptoms.
Dr. Edwards says that with the holidays approaching, our emergency departments will likely experience an uptick in visits. One reason for this is because – according to the American Heart Association – the risk of heart attack and stroke increases around the holidays. However people often ignore early heart attack warning signs rather than getting them checked out. Dr. Edwards says this is a mistake.
“Medical care is critical for patients experiencing symptoms of a heart attack or stroke,” he says. “Prompt treatment not only saves lives, it can minimize long-term damage and complications. Our emergency department team is well-equipped to evaluate patients experiencing common symptoms, and to get them the care they need even during the busiest times of year.”
Northwest Healthcare’s emergency departments have been designated by the American College of Cardiology as Accredited Chest Pain Centers with Primary PCI and Primary and/or Advanced Stroke Centers by the Joint Commission. These designations mean that the hospitals follow the national standards of care for heart attack and stroke.
Common heart attack symptoms include chest discomfort, discomfort in other areas of the upper body and shortness of breath. Stroke symptoms include face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty and speech difficulty. Anyone experiencing heart attack or stroke symptoms should call 9-1-1.
Back