AGENCY TESTIMONY
Heat-related emergency room incidents in New York City
1:45:43
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64 sec
Sarah Parker presents data on heat-related emergency room incidents in New York City from 2020 to 2023, highlighting the increasing trend and the impact on older adults.
- Annual heat-related cases ranged from 365 in 2020 to 625 in 2022, showing an increasing trend
- Older adults (65+) make up a disproportionate share of inpatient cases, comprising 45% of admissions while being only 24% of all cases
- The data likely undercounts the true extent of heat-related medical issues
Sarah Parker
1:45:43
I will first focus on heat related emergency room incidents in New York City.
1:45:49
Using hospital administrative data, IVA looked at the number of heat related illnesses in New York City in calendar years 2020 through 2023.
1:45:58
The annual number of heat related cases in this period ranged from 365 in 2020 to 625 in 2022, and this followed a general trend of increasing year over year.
1:46:11
These numbers are almost certainly an undercount of heat related medical issues as they only capture individuals who sought medical care at a hospital and not those who sought out treatment at clinics or who went untreated.
1:46:25
When looking at the age distribution of heat related cases, Abbio found that older adults, those 65 and older, tend to make up a greater proportion of individuals admitted to the hospital for heat related illness.
1:46:38
On average, they are 24% of all cases, but comprise 45% of inpatient cases, meaning that they were admitted to the hospital.
