Effect of Hurricane Sandy on Long Island Emergency Departments Visits

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hirsch J ; Kim H ; Liu B ; Schwartz RM ; Silverman R ; Taioli E
• Description:
  Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of Hurricane Sandy on Long Island mental health emergency department (ED) visits and to determine whether these visits varied according to patient demographics or geographic area and intensity of the impact. Methods: Individual-level de-identified data were extracted from the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System from New York State ED visits from October 1 to December 2012 for residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties in Long Island. The dates of the ED visits were grouped into 4 periods: (1) pre-Sandy, October 1-28; (2) during Sandy, October 29; (3) post-Sandy I, October 30 to November 1; and (4) post-Sandy II, November 2-30. Results: A total of 126,337 ED visits were recorded among 23 EDs. A significant drop in volume was observed on October 29; 399 more ED visits for physical health diagnoses were identified in the post-Sandy I period than in the pre-Sandy period. "Diseases of the respiratory system" was the only diagnosis group that showed a positive trend in the post-Sandy I period compared with the pre-Sandy period (increase of 4%). No significant changes in mental health visits were observed after Sandy landfall. Conclusions: This analysis suggests that the critical temporal window during which ED resources should be increased is in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cyclonic Storms Delivery Of Health Care Demography Disaster Planning Emergencies Emergency Responders Morbidity Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Natural Disaster Preparedness Demographic Characteristics Disaster Planning Emergency Care Emergency Preparedness Epidemiology Health System Utilization Hurricanes Medical Care Morbidity Morbidity Rates Natural Disasters

  More +
• ISSN:
  1935-7893
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  344-350
• Volume:
  10
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064322
• Citation:
  Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2016 Jun; 10(3):344-350
• Contact Point Address:
  Emanuela Taioli, MD, PhD, Department of Population Health Science and Policy, and Thoracic Surgery, Institute for Translational Epidemiology, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1133, New York, NY 10029
• Email:
  taiolema@gmail.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:50127fa375d59216dd27e28bb938df24a32297651fa69e6a01659c4e3babf1856541a7df139d87ad460a3ccf4772994a2c733bcb471465ab213ec7847d0959b9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222813/cdc_222813_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 235.79 KB ]