Northern Lights Regional Health Centre

Fort Mcmurray, AB · Hospital website ↗

Open 24/7☎ (780) 791-6161

1h 38m

current emergency wait

High confidence, official hospital feed, updated 12 min ago

vs its typical now

+17 min

usually about 1h 21m at this hour

Alberta rank

#6 / 23

among ERs reporting now, shortest first

calmest hour

6am

typically 41 min

Quieter than usual for this time of day (~15th percentile of this ER's own posted-wait history at this hour, based on 296 past readings)

Directions ↗

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Compare nearby ERs on the map →

Call 911 for an ambulance if you need one.

Weather now

-7°C

Air quality (AQHI)

When this ER is busiest

Based on our archive, this emergency room is typically busiest around 10pm and on Mondays, and quietest around 6am and on Saturdays.

1h2h3hcalmest

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Over the last month its posted wait has typically been about 1h 39m, ranging roughly 30 min to 3h 30m.

For a non-urgent visit, a calmer hour usually means a shorter wait; in an emergency, go to the nearest ER no matter the time.

Busiest hours, by day

Average emergency wait at Northern Lights Regional Health Centre by day of week and hour of day, in minutes
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Sun	121	103	82	75	55	46	40	57	70	77	79	73	67	74	68	75	71	69	85	100	107	140	169	160
Mon	137	115	92	71	56	44	43	67	81	88	92	95	91	97	96	96	83	88	107	129	131	161	204	183
Tue	140	109	88	58	48	42	39	56	73	84	87	83	80	90	89	88	90	89	107	116	116	134	188	182
Wed	141	106	86	67	51	46	45	65	82	90	88	87	78	75	77	71	70	67	73	95	101	121	154	142
Thu	111	79	81	59	52	46	44	59	84	86	97	82	80	83	91	86	88	81	89	100	115	140	181	150
Fri	132	111	85	64	49	41	42	64	90	94	93	82	73	68	71	73	70	66	73	78	85	106	146	138
Sat	130	102	83	57	44	37	34	43	70	76	76	76	65	59	63	65	59	57	56	72	76	104	138	132

For a non-urgent visit, a calmer hour usually means a shorter wait; in an emergency, go to the nearest ER no matter the time.

Next 12 hours

The wait is about 1h 38m right now. If this ER follows its usual pattern, expect it to climb toward roughly 1h 59m over the next 12 hours.

A projection from this ER's own history, not a guarantee. Live conditions can change quickly.

Trends for this ER

See interactive trends, wait history, weather, volume, compare →

How reliable is this number?

Over the last 49.0 h, this ER's posted wait refreshes about every 15 min, has ranged 30 min–2h 53m.

Measured from our own archive of what this hospital posted. See how we check accuracy

Getting there

9 parking area(s) mapped nearby, the nearest about 5 m from the ER.
Nearest pharmacy: Shoppers Drug Mart, about 448 m away.

Logistics from OpenStreetMap, to help plan your arrival, not medical guidance. In an emergency, go straight to the nearest entrance and ask staff.

Time to be seen (CIHI)

Officially, 9 in 10 patients here were seen by a physician within ~3h 6m.

For comparison, the wait this ER has posted runs a median of ~30 min over the stretch we've tracked it, the typical live estimate, where the CIHI figure above is the long-wait tail (the slowest 1 in 10).

This hospital, 90th-percentile time from triage to first physician assessment. CIHI, fiscal 2024–2025. Source ↗

If you're admitted (CIHI)

If you're admitted to hospital from here, the wait for an inpatient bed can be long: 9 in 10 admitted patients spent under ~23h 12m in the ED.

Most ER visits end in discharge and are far shorter, this is the admitted-patient (boarding) figure. This hospital, 90th-percentile total ED time for admitted patients. CIHI, fiscal 2024–2025. Source ↗

Recent closures

Wait times unavailable — 1h 37m on 2026-10-08
Wait times unavailable — 53 min on 2026-09-10

Typical in Alberta (CIHI)

half of discharged ED visits finish within ~2.4–4.1 h; 9 in 10 within ~10.2 h.

Province-wide total time in the ED (arrival to leaving), Apr–Sep 2025, a ballpark where there's no live wait, not this hospital's posted number.

Nearby emergency rooms

Lac la Biche Healthcare Centre

Lac La Biche · 220 km away

—

Athabasca Healthcare Centre

Athabasca · 252 km away

—

Boyle Healthcare Centre

Boyle · 253 km away

—

Cold Lake Healthcare Centre

Cold Lake · 261 km away

—

Slave Lake Healthcare Centre

Slave Lake · 265 km away

—

Bonnyville Health Centre

Bonnyville · 276 km away

—

Frequently asked questions

How long is the ER wait at Northern Lights Regional Health Centre right now?

As of the latest update, about 1h 38m to be seen at Northern Lights Regional Health Centre. The figure refreshes roughly every 10 minutes and is the hospital's own live estimate, not a guarantee: an emergency room always treats the sickest patients first, so your own wait can differ.

What does the wait time actually measure?

Usually the estimated time to be seen by a physician, but Canada has no common definition. Quebec publishes stretcher occupancy, New Brunswick length of stay, and others an estimate of the wait to be seen, so we keep each province in its own units and never blend them into one misleading number.

How accurate are these ER wait times?

They are the live estimates each hospital publishes, refreshed about every 10 minutes; we stamp every reading with the moment the hospital said it was current and flag a feed that goes stale. They are estimates, not guarantees, an emergency room always sees the sickest patients first, so your own wait can differ. We also backtest our forecasts against what hospitals post next; see the accuracy page.

Should I go to the ER, or somewhere else?

For anything life-threatening, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room now, never wait for a shorter posted time. For a non-urgent problem, calling 811 (free 24/7 health advice), a walk-in clinic, or a pharmacist is often faster. When in doubt, get checked.

Add this wait time to your site

Free to embed, a live wait-time badge for this ER that updates automatically. Copy the code:

<iframe src="https://ercompass.ca/embed/hospital/northern-lights-regional-health-centre" width="340" height="150" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Northern Lights Regional Health Centre"></iframe>
<a href="https://ercompass.ca/hospital/northern-lights-regional-health-centre">Live ER wait at Northern Lights Regional Health Centre, ER Compass</a>

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Sun	121	103	82	75	55	46	40	57	70	77	79	73	67	74	68	75	71	69	85	100	107	140	169	160
Mon	137	115	92	71	56	44	43	67	81	88	92	95	91	97	96	96	83	88	107	129	131	161	204	183
Tue	140	109	88	58	48	42	39	56	73	84	87	83	80	90	89	88	90	89	107	116	116	134	188	182
Wed	141	106	86	67	51	46	45	65	82	90	88	87	78	75	77	71	70	67	73	95	101	121	154	142
Thu	111	79	81	59	52	46	44	59	84	86	97	82	80	83	91	86	88	81	89	100	115	140	181	150
Fri	132	111	85	64	49	41	42	64	90	94	93	82	73	68	71	73	70	66	73	78	85	106	146	138
Sat	130	102	83	57	44	37	34	43	70	76	76	76	65	59	63	65	59	57	56	72	76	104	138	132

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Sun	121	103	82	75	55	46	40	57	70	77	79	73	67	74	68	75	71	69	85	100	107	140	169	160
Mon	137	115	92	71	56	44	43	67	81	88	92	95	91	97	96	96	83	88	107	129	131	161	204	183
Tue	140	109	88	58	48	42	39	56	73	84	87	83	80	90	89	88	90	89	107	116	116	134	188	182
Wed	141	106	86	67	51	46	45	65	82	90	88	87	78	75	77	71	70	67	73	95	101	121	154	142
Thu	111	79	81	59	52	46	44	59	84	86	97	82	80	83	91	86	88	81	89	100	115	140	181	150
Fri	132	111	85	64	49	41	42	64	90	94	93	82	73	68	71	73	70	66	73	78	85	106	146	138
Sat	130	102	83	57	44	37	34	43	70	76	76	76	65	59	63	65	59	57	56	72	76	104	138	132

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Sun	121	103	82	75	55	46	40	57	70	77	79	73	67	74	68	75	71	69	85	100	107	140	169	160
Mon	137	115	92	71	56	44	43	67	81	88	92	95	91	97	96	96	83	88	107	129	131	161	204	183
Tue	140	109	88	58	48	42	39	56	73	84	87	83	80	90	89	88	90	89	107	116	116	134	188	182
Wed	141	106	86	67	51	46	45	65	82	90	88	87	78	75	77	71	70	67	73	95	101	121	154	142
Thu	111	79	81	59	52	46	44	59	84	86	97	82	80	83	91	86	88	81	89	100	115	140	181	150
Fri	132	111	85	64	49	41	42	64	90	94	93	82	73	68	71	73	70	66	73	78	85	106	146	138
Sat	130	102	83	57	44	37	34	43	70	76	76	76	65	59	63	65	59	57	56	72	76	104	138	132