Emergency Departments in Canada: Case Study
Emergency Departments in Canada: Case Study
Emergency Departments in Canada: Case Study
Media
Adobe Illustrator, Tableau, RawGraphs
Target Audience
General Canadian audience
Client
Jodie Jenkinson
Context
For this project, I wanted to visualize quantitative data associated with emergency department (ED) wait times across different Canadian provinces and territories. The purpose of this visualization was to shed light on the current landscape of our public healthcare system by explaining the role of contributing factors to ED wait times, which are associated with areas of improvement still required from the government.
Process
From conceptualization, I wanted the composition of this piece to be shaped around the spatial layout of an ED. I first began with a clear thumbnail depicting a maze of potential hospital rooms and corridors that would house graphs of data, keeping in mind that chairs and beds would need to be incorporated into each room to signify wait times.
To determine the amount of rooms needed in this layout, I needed to understand how much information to include in the piece. I researched and compiled as much publicly available information as possible before distilling common variables and points of interest down to six key categories. The data sources used in this project are listed below:
Variable | Reference |
|---|---|
Number of ED visits by age group and median length of stay, from 2018-2019 to 2021-2022 | |
Number of ED physicians per 1000 population, from 2018-2021 | CADTH: Emergency Department Overcrowding Utilization Analysis |
Change in number of ED visits, time to initial assessment, and hospital bed wait times pre-pandemic to post-pandemic, from 2019-2021 | |
Proportion of patients leaving ED untreated in 2024 | IEDM: Too Many Canadians Are Leaving Emergency Rooms Untreated |
Time to initial assessment by ED physician in 2024-2025 | CIHI: Emergency Department Wait Time for Physician Initial Assessment |
Length of stay on stretchers, time to assessment (general population vs patients on stretchers), and number of patients on stretchers in the ED >24 and >48 hours in Quebec, from 2022-2026 |
I focused on gathering data from these specific years because they were consistent with each other, allowing for easy coordination between different types of graphs. Examples of variables that I excluded, either because they were irrelevant to the topic, repetitive, or lacking information for different regions or years, are listed below:
Facility
Total beds available in the hospital
Percentage of ED visits by older adults or acuity
Number of patient deaths in ED
90th percentile data
Stratification by rural/remote vs urban locations
Wait time displays
To clean the data, I used Tableau Prep to remove unnecessary fields, collect similar data, and find common variables between different data sets. I experimented with different methods of representing data using RawGraphs.io, Tableau Desktop, and DataVizProject.com. Ultimately, I settled on the following representations of data:
Beeswarm plot (via RawGraphs.io) to show the median length of stay in the ED over four years
Stacked bar charts (via Tableau) to demonstrate the number of ED visits over four years
Choropleth map (via Tableau) to depict time to physician initial assessment in 2024
Bar charts (via Tableau) to call out various data sets from Quebec over four years
Dual-axis line graph (via Tableau) to show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different variables in the ED
I wanted the main figure for this piece to be related to the passage of time. Due to the shape of the beeswarm plot, I theorized that the outline of an hourglass could be added around the data to match the metaphor. Furthermore, to determine the composition of ED rooms, I referred to the following visual references and potential colour palettes (generated by Coolors.io):
I was then able to create a rough draft of the layout, shown below:
The final layout was fleshed out from this draft, ensuring that the viewer's eye would be able to be led through the rooms using open doorways. Another key element that I wanted to include was chairs, beds, and tables to define axis labels and create a cohesive, thematic relationship between the graphs and the spatial layout.
Cool colours dominated the majority of the hospital layout to convey a sense of clinical sterility, while warm colours made up the majority of figures to increase visual salience and draw attention to the most important elements of the piece. I created visual diversity in the layout of the ED by varying the sizes of the rooms as well as the colours of the waiting rooms and grass outdoors.
Altogether, my final piece can be shown below:
References
Adult Emergency Department waiting room. (n.d.). McGill University Health Centre. Retrieved April 8, 2026, from https://muhc.ca/glen/adult-emergency-department-waiting-room
Applegate, S. (2022, January 6). 12 Examples of Floor Plans With Dimensions. RoomSketcher. https://www.roomsketcher.com/blog/floor-plan-dimensions/
Beautiful Luxury Beach Style House Plan 7279: Blue Lagoon 2. (n.d.). The House Designers, LLC. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/blue-lagoon-2-7279/
Bhattacharyya, D. S., Neiterman, E., Mac, C., Cheung, K., Dang, E., Jaffer, A., McCready-Branch, B., Gauhar, A., & Butt, Z. A. (2025). Interventions to reduce wait times in emergency departments in Canadian hospitals: A scoping review. Public Health, 245, 105778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.105778
Cho, S. I., Ko, J.-I., Kim, Y., Yeo, W., Lee, K., Cho, W., Moon, S., & Park, T. (2021). Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak in The Emergency Department Designed for Emerging Infectious Diseases in Korea. Infection & Chemotherapy, 53(1), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2020.0143
Development of a Novel Emergency Department Mapping Tool—Matthew Grzywinski, Stephanie Carlisle, James Coleman, Connor Cook, Geoffrey Hayden, Robert Pugliese, Billie Faircloth, Bon Ku, 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1937586719842349
Eberly, A. (2023, June 6). How to Plan a People-First Emergency Department. Design Collaborative. https://designcollaborative.com/how-to-plan-a-people-first-emergency-department/
Email, S. by, Facebook, S. on, X, S. on, LinkedIn, S. on, & Message, S. via T. (2025, April 1). Visitor to empty Delta Hospital emergency room questions website. Delta Optimist. https://www.delta-optimist.com/local-news/visitor-to-empty-delta-hospital-emergency-room-questions-website-10440567
Emergency department crowding: Beyond primary care access | CIHI. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2026, from https://www.cihi.ca/en/primary-and-virtual-care-access-emergency-department-visits-for-primary-care-conditions/emergency-department-crowding-beyond-primary-care-access
Emergency Department Overcrowding in Canada: CADTH Health Technology Review Recommendation. (2023). Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK599980/
Emergency medical services in Canada. (2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emergency_medical_services_in_Canada&oldid=1309240263
Exclusive Contemporary Style House Plan 2372: The Poplar. (n.d.). The House Designers, LLC. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/1-story-contemporary-3137-square-feet-4-bedrooms-walkout-basement-2372/
Floor Plans. (n.d.). Genesis Studios. Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://www.genesisstudios.com/floor-plans/
Homes, S. (2023, March 1). How To Read Floor Plans. Steiner Homes LTD. https://steinerhomesltd.com/blog/how-to-read-floor-plans/
Hourglass 30 Minute Sand Timer, Colorful Gift Package Sand Clock, Yellow: Amazon.ca: Home. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2026, from https://www.amazon.ca/Hourglass-Minute-Colorful-Package-Yellow/dp/B07GGFHZ9N?th=1
Knapman, M., & Bonner, A. (n.d.). Overcrowding in medium‐volume emergency departments: Effects of aged patients in emergency departments on wait times for non‐emergent triage‐level patients. Retrieved April 12, 2026, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-172X.2010.01846.x
NakshaaMaker on Instagram: “This stunning architectural floor plan blends aesthetic elegance with functional living! Featuring a lush landscape garden, waterbody, outdoor sitting area, spacious interiors, and a stylish open layout, this home is designed for ultimate comfort & tranquility. 🌿🏠 📏 Smart space planning for seamless living 🔥 Perfect for those who love modern architecture & nature’s beauty! Designed by @nakshaamaker , your trusted architecture & interior design expert! 🔹 Need a customized floor plan? CALL / text us today! 📩 Contact: +91-6359556936 Tag someone who would love this! 👇 #DreamHome #LuxuryLiving #HouseGoals #ModernArchitecture #HomeDesign #ArchitecturalPlan #InteriorDesign #LandscapeDesign #HomeSweetHome #NakshaMaker #ArchitectureLovers #SustainableLiving.” (n.d.). Instagram. Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://www.instagram.com/nakshaamaker/p/DHBYcPoIiag/
Olson, K. B. (2017, March 20). The untold story behind stick figure bathroom signs. Mydoorsign.Com Blog. https://www.mydoorsign.com/blog/stick-figure-bathroom-signs/
Pool House Architecture Design in Denver, Colorado. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://www.laidesigngroup.com/project_cobblestone_ranch_clubhouse_and_entry_monument.html
Primary and virtual care access: Emergency department visits for primary care conditions | CIHI. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2026, from https://www.cihi.ca/en/primary-and-virtual-care-access-emergency-department-visits-for-primary-care-conditions
Québec, G. and M. of. (n.d.). Emergency Situation Data Timeline—Open Government Portal. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/d4541afe-9391-44bf-a78f-dae3c9cf1217
Solid Chechen Wood Hourglass With Smooth Spindles. (n.d.). JustHourglasses. Retrieved April 3, 2026, from https://www.justhourglasses.com/products/solid-chechen-wood-hourglass-with-smooth-spindles
Solid Walnut 30 or 60 Minute Hourglass With Metal Spindles. (n.d.). JustHourglasses. Retrieved April 3, 2026, from https://www.justhourglasses.com/products/solid-walnut-30-or-60-minute-hourglass-with-metal-spindles
Super Chief Ambulance. (n.d.). Braun Ambulances. Retrieved April 11, 2026, from https://www.braunambulances.com/custom-ambulances/super-chief-ambulance/
Time spent in the emergency department | ontario.ca. (2017, December 18). http://www.ontario.ca/page/time-spent-emergency-department
vector architectural plan - abstract architectural blueprint of a modern residential building / technology, industry, business concept illustration: Real estate, building, construction & architecture Stock Vector. (n.d.). Adobe Stock. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://stock.adobe.com/images/vector-architectural-plan-abstract-architectural-blueprint-of-a-modern-residential-building-technology-industry-business-concept-illustration-real-estate-building-construction-architecture/211477973
Media
Adobe Illustrator, Tableau, RawGraphs
Target Audience
General Canadian audience
Client
Jodie Jenkinson
Context
For this project, I wanted to visualize quantitative data associated with emergency department (ED) wait times across different Canadian provinces and territories. The purpose of this visualization was to shed light on the current landscape of our public healthcare system by explaining the role of contributing factors to ED wait times, which are associated with areas of improvement still required from the government.
Process
From conceptualization, I wanted the composition of this piece to be shaped around the spatial layout of an ED. I first began with a clear thumbnail depicting a maze of potential hospital rooms and corridors that would house graphs of data, keeping in mind that chairs and beds would need to be incorporated into each room to signify wait times.
To determine the amount of rooms needed in this layout, I needed to understand how much information to include in the piece. I researched and compiled as much publicly available information as possible before distilling common variables and points of interest down to six key categories. The data sources used in this project are listed below:
Variable | Reference |
|---|---|
Number of ED visits by age group and median length of stay, from 2018-2019 to 2021-2022 | |
Number of ED physicians per 1000 population, from 2018-2021 | CADTH: Emergency Department Overcrowding Utilization Analysis |
Change in number of ED visits, time to initial assessment, and hospital bed wait times pre-pandemic to post-pandemic, from 2019-2021 | |
Proportion of patients leaving ED untreated in 2024 | IEDM: Too Many Canadians Are Leaving Emergency Rooms Untreated |
Time to initial assessment by ED physician in 2024-2025 | CIHI: Emergency Department Wait Time for Physician Initial Assessment |
Length of stay on stretchers, time to assessment (general population vs patients on stretchers), and number of patients on stretchers in the ED >24 and >48 hours in Quebec, from 2022-2026 |
I focused on gathering data from these specific years because they were consistent with each other, allowing for easy coordination between different types of graphs. Examples of variables that I excluded, either because they were irrelevant to the topic, repetitive, or lacking information for different regions or years, are listed below:
Facility
Total beds available in the hospital
Percentage of ED visits by older adults or acuity
Number of patient deaths in ED
90th percentile data
Stratification by rural/remote vs urban locations
Wait time displays
To clean the data, I used Tableau Prep to remove unnecessary fields, collect similar data, and find common variables between different data sets. I experimented with different methods of representing data using RawGraphs.io, Tableau Desktop, and DataVizProject.com. Ultimately, I settled on the following representations of data:
Beeswarm plot (via RawGraphs.io) to show the median length of stay in the ED over four years
Stacked bar charts (via Tableau) to demonstrate the number of ED visits over four years
Choropleth map (via Tableau) to depict time to physician initial assessment in 2024
Bar charts (via Tableau) to call out various data sets from Quebec over four years
Dual-axis line graph (via Tableau) to show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different variables in the ED
I wanted the main figure for this piece to be related to the passage of time. Due to the shape of the beeswarm plot, I theorized that the outline of an hourglass could be added around the data to match the metaphor. Furthermore, to determine the composition of ED rooms, I referred to the following visual references and potential colour palettes (generated by Coolors.io):
I was then able to create a rough draft of the layout, shown below:
The final layout was fleshed out from this draft, ensuring that the viewer's eye would be able to be led through the rooms using open doorways. Another key element that I wanted to include was chairs, beds, and tables to define axis labels and create a cohesive, thematic relationship between the graphs and the spatial layout.
Cool colours dominated the majority of the hospital layout to convey a sense of clinical sterility, while warm colours made up the majority of figures to increase visual salience and draw attention to the most important elements of the piece. I created visual diversity in the layout of the ED by varying the sizes of the rooms as well as the colours of the waiting rooms and grass outdoors.
Altogether, my final piece can be shown below:
References
Adult Emergency Department waiting room. (n.d.). McGill University Health Centre. Retrieved April 8, 2026, from https://muhc.ca/glen/adult-emergency-department-waiting-room
Applegate, S. (2022, January 6). 12 Examples of Floor Plans With Dimensions. RoomSketcher. https://www.roomsketcher.com/blog/floor-plan-dimensions/
Beautiful Luxury Beach Style House Plan 7279: Blue Lagoon 2. (n.d.). The House Designers, LLC. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/blue-lagoon-2-7279/
Bhattacharyya, D. S., Neiterman, E., Mac, C., Cheung, K., Dang, E., Jaffer, A., McCready-Branch, B., Gauhar, A., & Butt, Z. A. (2025). Interventions to reduce wait times in emergency departments in Canadian hospitals: A scoping review. Public Health, 245, 105778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.105778
Cho, S. I., Ko, J.-I., Kim, Y., Yeo, W., Lee, K., Cho, W., Moon, S., & Park, T. (2021). Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak in The Emergency Department Designed for Emerging Infectious Diseases in Korea. Infection & Chemotherapy, 53(1), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2020.0143
Development of a Novel Emergency Department Mapping Tool—Matthew Grzywinski, Stephanie Carlisle, James Coleman, Connor Cook, Geoffrey Hayden, Robert Pugliese, Billie Faircloth, Bon Ku, 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1937586719842349
Eberly, A. (2023, June 6). How to Plan a People-First Emergency Department. Design Collaborative. https://designcollaborative.com/how-to-plan-a-people-first-emergency-department/
Email, S. by, Facebook, S. on, X, S. on, LinkedIn, S. on, & Message, S. via T. (2025, April 1). Visitor to empty Delta Hospital emergency room questions website. Delta Optimist. https://www.delta-optimist.com/local-news/visitor-to-empty-delta-hospital-emergency-room-questions-website-10440567
Emergency department crowding: Beyond primary care access | CIHI. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2026, from https://www.cihi.ca/en/primary-and-virtual-care-access-emergency-department-visits-for-primary-care-conditions/emergency-department-crowding-beyond-primary-care-access
Emergency Department Overcrowding in Canada: CADTH Health Technology Review Recommendation. (2023). Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK599980/
Emergency medical services in Canada. (2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emergency_medical_services_in_Canada&oldid=1309240263
Exclusive Contemporary Style House Plan 2372: The Poplar. (n.d.). The House Designers, LLC. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/1-story-contemporary-3137-square-feet-4-bedrooms-walkout-basement-2372/
Floor Plans. (n.d.). Genesis Studios. Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://www.genesisstudios.com/floor-plans/
Homes, S. (2023, March 1). How To Read Floor Plans. Steiner Homes LTD. https://steinerhomesltd.com/blog/how-to-read-floor-plans/
Hourglass 30 Minute Sand Timer, Colorful Gift Package Sand Clock, Yellow: Amazon.ca: Home. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2026, from https://www.amazon.ca/Hourglass-Minute-Colorful-Package-Yellow/dp/B07GGFHZ9N?th=1
Knapman, M., & Bonner, A. (n.d.). Overcrowding in medium‐volume emergency departments: Effects of aged patients in emergency departments on wait times for non‐emergent triage‐level patients. Retrieved April 12, 2026, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-172X.2010.01846.x
NakshaaMaker on Instagram: “This stunning architectural floor plan blends aesthetic elegance with functional living! Featuring a lush landscape garden, waterbody, outdoor sitting area, spacious interiors, and a stylish open layout, this home is designed for ultimate comfort & tranquility. 🌿🏠 📏 Smart space planning for seamless living 🔥 Perfect for those who love modern architecture & nature’s beauty! Designed by @nakshaamaker , your trusted architecture & interior design expert! 🔹 Need a customized floor plan? CALL / text us today! 📩 Contact: +91-6359556936 Tag someone who would love this! 👇 #DreamHome #LuxuryLiving #HouseGoals #ModernArchitecture #HomeDesign #ArchitecturalPlan #InteriorDesign #LandscapeDesign #HomeSweetHome #NakshaMaker #ArchitectureLovers #SustainableLiving.” (n.d.). Instagram. Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://www.instagram.com/nakshaamaker/p/DHBYcPoIiag/
Olson, K. B. (2017, March 20). The untold story behind stick figure bathroom signs. Mydoorsign.Com Blog. https://www.mydoorsign.com/blog/stick-figure-bathroom-signs/
Pool House Architecture Design in Denver, Colorado. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2026, from https://www.laidesigngroup.com/project_cobblestone_ranch_clubhouse_and_entry_monument.html
Primary and virtual care access: Emergency department visits for primary care conditions | CIHI. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2026, from https://www.cihi.ca/en/primary-and-virtual-care-access-emergency-department-visits-for-primary-care-conditions
Québec, G. and M. of. (n.d.). Emergency Situation Data Timeline—Open Government Portal. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/d4541afe-9391-44bf-a78f-dae3c9cf1217
Solid Chechen Wood Hourglass With Smooth Spindles. (n.d.). JustHourglasses. Retrieved April 3, 2026, from https://www.justhourglasses.com/products/solid-chechen-wood-hourglass-with-smooth-spindles
Solid Walnut 30 or 60 Minute Hourglass With Metal Spindles. (n.d.). JustHourglasses. Retrieved April 3, 2026, from https://www.justhourglasses.com/products/solid-walnut-30-or-60-minute-hourglass-with-metal-spindles
Super Chief Ambulance. (n.d.). Braun Ambulances. Retrieved April 11, 2026, from https://www.braunambulances.com/custom-ambulances/super-chief-ambulance/
Time spent in the emergency department | ontario.ca. (2017, December 18). http://www.ontario.ca/page/time-spent-emergency-department
vector architectural plan - abstract architectural blueprint of a modern residential building / technology, industry, business concept illustration: Real estate, building, construction & architecture Stock Vector. (n.d.). Adobe Stock. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://stock.adobe.com/images/vector-architectural-plan-abstract-architectural-blueprint-of-a-modern-residential-building-technology-industry-business-concept-illustration-real-estate-building-construction-architecture/211477973