Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
June 25, 2014 12:00 AM

Climate change will overwhelm U.S. healthcare system, report warns

Steven Ross Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Health experts warn that despite years of effort toward improving emergency preparedness when disasters occur, the country's health system as a whole would find itself overwhelmed if required to address the full effects of climate change on public health.

    An expected increase in the number of excessively hot days as well as a rise in the frequency of natural disasters will put heavy strain on hospitals and emergency departments who will see an influx of patients as a result of such occurrences.

    Such were the findings of a report released Tuesday by the Risky Business Project, a bipartisan group of former public leaders and business professionals that include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

    The report warns the financial impact of climate change to the nation's economy would be in the billions in property damage, loss productivity, medical expenditures and mortality.

    “With this report, we call on the American business community to rise to the challenge and lead the way in helping reduce climate risks,” the report stated. “This is only a first step, but it's a step toward getting America on a new path leading to a more secure, more certain economic future.”

    Public health in particular will be at risk, warned the report, which examined the impact of the effects of heat stress on the population and the health system. More than 8,000 emergency department visits that occurred in 2009 and 2010 were from heat stroke, the report found, resulting in an annual incident rate of 1.3 visits per 100,000 people.

    By 2050, the annual average number of days where temperatures will reach 95°F or above is expected to rise to as many as 50, three times the average of hot days seen over the past 30 years, according to the report. By century's end, the number of days over 95 degrees could reach as high as 96.

    The results echo many of the findings detailed in the federal government's National Climate Assessment released last month.

    Related Content: See our Data Points feature on emergency preparedness

    That report concluded climate change will have a particularly negative impact for the millions of Americans living with chronic health conditions and is likely to cause a surge in emergency department visits and hospital utilization, which the health system is not able to handle, said Dr. Alfred Sommer, professor of Epidemiology, Ophthalmology and International Health, and Dean Emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Sommer serves in an advisory role as a member of the Risky Business Project Risk Committee.

    “We have absolutely no surge capacity left in our (health) system,” Sommer said. “We are going to get this perfect storm of reduced capacity to deal with sudden large bad events, and we are going to get sudden, bad events at a much greater likelihood and frequency than we do now.”

    The effects of such adverse weather events will be felt the hardest among the most vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, the very young, the disabled and low-income communities who don't have the resources to move to other, less volatile regions, Sommer said.

    The report is one of a number of analyses produced in recent years that attempts to convey the effects of climate change on a more personal level. The National Climate Assessment put a $6.5 billion a year price tag on healthcare related to hospital admissions for lung-related conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma caused by the combination of rising temperatures and the emission of carbon dioxide.

    A 2011 study published in the journal Health Affairs examined the health costs associated with six types of extreme weather and disease events between 2002 through 2009. It estimated that events occurring within that period accounted for a total of more than 760,000 encounters with the healthcare system at a cost totaling more than $14 billion.

    Follow Steven Ross Johnson on Twitter: @MHsjohnson

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    diversity
    Health equity execs leveraging academic roles to drive long-term change
    Patrick Blair InnovAge
    PACE could expand amid possible nursing home closures: InnovAge CEO
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing