After concerns about claiming the top spot for the country’s longest emergency department (ED) wait times, Maryland established the Maryland Emergency Department Wait Time Reduction Commission in July 2024 to craft long-term solutions that could be rolled out sooner rather than later. Among the commission’s early recommendations released this week is a plan to reduce hospital capacities by improving efficiency in addressing the needs of older populations with chronic health conditions and those with behavioral health conditions who might come to the ED. The state also has above-average length of stay in the ED—a trendline that was reaching 250 minutes as of 2022, compared with the national average of just over 150 minutes. Stakeholders can contact the commission on its…..