Dive Brief:
- Hospitals in the northeastern U.S. are keeping an eye on air quality as smoke from Canadian wildfires envelops the region. Most health systems contacted by Healthcare Dive did not report significant spikes in patient volumes yet, but they said they’re continuing to monitor the situation.
- Millions of people live in areas currently under air quality alerts, and meteorologists say conditions may not significantly improve for a few more days.
- Health systems in the region are urging residents to stay indoors and use masks — particularly snug-fitting N95s — when traveling outside. Though everyone should limit their time outdoors, it’s especially important for older people, children and pregnant women as well as those with conditions like heart or lung disease or asthma, according to Kristin Fless, a pulmonologist at RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group.
Dive Insight:
Carrie Cristello, assistant vice president of strategic communications and media relations at RWJBarnabas Health, told Healthcare Dive the New Jersey-based system was seeing “a slight increase in patient volume” in emergency departments related to wildfire smoke.
On Wednesday afternoon, she said the Air Quality Index was hovering between unhealthy and hazardous near their northern facilities.
A spokesperson for NYC Health + Hospitals said some emergency departments were seeing an uptick of patients with smoke-related respiratory symptoms, while another New York system wasn’t noting significant spikes in patient volume. But some people were coming to the system’s hospitals for eye or throat irritation, chest pain or shortness of breath.
Reed Caldwell, chief of service at NYU Langone Tisch Hospital, said they weren’t reporting a noticeable uptick in emergency room visits, but he urged residents to seek care if they experienced shortness of breath, prolonged or worsening wheezing, or an inability to accomplish tasks due to shortness of breath.
Spokespeople for Pittsburgh-based UPMC and New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System said they weren’t observing increased patient volumes, but were continuing to monitor the situation.
Canada’s wildfire season started early this year, and hot and dry conditions linked to climate change can make fires more severe. The U.S. healthcare system — which also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions — could face increased pressures due to climate change, like worsening quality and access to care due to severe weather events, heightened costs and amplified health disparities.
