Monday, March 13, 2017 1:46 pm

COVINGTON - Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton recently launched a Web page designed to make ER wait times visible to patients. By visiting baptistonline.org/tipton/services/emergency/, potential patients can see the average wait time, which is updated every five minutes and represents the average wait time for the previous hour. Wait times reflect the average time between the patient's arrival to the emergency department and when that patient is first seen by a doctor or nurse practitioner, according to the hospital's CEO and administrator Sam Lynd.

Lynd added that making wait times so easily accessible reflects the hospital's commitment to transparency and to serving the community in the most efficient way possible.

The 13-bed emergency department, led by Dr. David Conner, boasts an experienced staff that treats approximately 23,000 patients a year, Lynd said. Patients can sign up for MyChart, Baptist's electronic health record patient portal to reference notes from their emergency department visit for any necessary follow-up appointments. To sign up for MyChart, patients may visit mychart.baptistonecare.org.