Emergency department visits spiked during June heatwave in US Northwest

Residents at a cooling center during a heatwave in Portland, Oregon, U.S., on Monday, June 28, 2021. | Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The heatwave that scorched the Pacific Northwest in late June resulted in an enormous surge in emergency department (ED) visits in the region, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 1,038 heat-related visits to the emergency department during the peak of the heatwave on June 28th in “region 10” — which includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. In shocking comparison, there were just nine similar ED visits in the region on the same day in 2019.

The Northwest was home to a disproportionate number of emergency department visits

While much of the West was suffering through sweltering heat in June, the Northwest was home to a disproportionate number of emergency department visits....

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