The Effect of Weather and Sporting Events on Ambulatory Visits and Hospitalizations at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. WMJ 2022 Jul;121(2):164-166
Date
07/21/2022Pubmed ID
35857696Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85134854629 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
BACKGROUND: We explored the impact of weather and sporting events on clinic and emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization.
METHODS: Weather, dates of sporting events, ED visits, hospitalizations, clinic visits, no-shows, and same-day patient cancellations from 2015 to 2018 were abstracted from Milwaukee's Veterans Affairs (VA) medical system.
RESULTS: Inclement precipitation increased clinic cancellations. Snowfall reduced ED visits. Green Bay Packer football games, University of Wisconsin-Madison football games, and the Super Bowl reduced ED visits but not hospitalizations. Milwaukee Brewers baseball home games didn't affect ED visits, but hospital admissions increased slightly. Basketball events (Milwaukee Bucks, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette University) had no impact.
CONCLUSION: Inclement weather increased clinic cancellations, and snow reduced ED visits. Football games reduced ED visits, while baseball increased hospitalizations, probably because the Milwaukee Brewers stadium is located on the VA property.
Author List
Kay C, Jackson JLAuthors
Jeffrey L. Jackson MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinCynthia Kay MD Associate Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Emergency Service, HospitalHospitalization
Humans
Retrospective Studies
Veterans
Weather
