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On The Record

Patient advocate, physicians on solving Maryland's ER wait time crisis

By Maureen Harvie,
Melissa Gerr
Published May 7, 2024 at 9:46 AM EDT
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Elaine Thompson/AP
/
AP
Maryland leads the nation in long emergency department wait times, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Only Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico have longer wait times. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Emergency room wait times in Maryland are the worst in the country. We ask Anna Palmisano, head of Marylanders for Patient Rights, how long waits can affect health outcomes.

Read her op-ed in Maryland Matters: How can we reduce ER wait times in Maryland hospitals?

Then, two physicians propose a solution: cut CEO salaries and use the funds to hire more hospital staff. We speak with former state legislator Dr. Dan Morhaim and former emergency department medical director Dr. David Meyers.

Read their Baltimore Sun op-ed: Here’s how to fix E.R. wait times in Md.: Cut hospital executive salaries. A lot.

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On The Record WYPR ProgramsOn the RecordhospitalsEmergency RoomHealth
Maureen Harvie
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.
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Melissa Gerr
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'
See stories by Melissa Gerr