Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T14:10:33.690Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Los Angeles (California USA) Hospitals, Wildfires Highest Priority

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2017

Sabrina A. Adelaine ,
Mizuki Sato ,
Yufang Jin  and
Hilary Godwin
Sabrina A. Adelaine
Affiliation:
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CaliforniaUSA
Mizuki Sato
Affiliation:
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New YorkUSA
Yufang Jin
Affiliation:
UC Davis, Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, Davis, CaliforniaUSA
Hilary Godwin*
Affiliation:
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CaliforniaUSA
*
Correspondence: Hilary Godwin, PhD UCLA Fielding School of Public Health BOX 951772; 16-035 CHS Los Angeles, California 90095-1772 USA E-mail: hgodwin@ucla.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction

Although many studies have delineated the variety and magnitude of impacts that climate change is likely to have on health, very little is known about how well hospitals are poised to respond to these impacts.

Hypothesis/Problem

The hypothesis is that most modern hospitals in urban areas in the United States need to augment their current disaster planning to include climate-related impacts.

Methods

Using Los Angeles County (California USA) as a case study, historical data for emergency department (ED) visits and projections for extreme-heat events were used to determine how much climate change is likely to increase ED visits by mid-century for each hospital. In addition, historical data about the location of wildfires in Los Angeles County and projections for increased frequency of both wildfires and flooding related to sea-level rise were used to identify which area hospitals will have an increased risk of climate-related wildfires or flooding at mid-century.

Results

Only a small fraction of the total number of predicted ED visits at mid-century would likely to be due to climate change. By contrast, a significant portion of hospitals in Los Angeles County are in close proximity to very high fire hazard severity zones (VHFHSZs) and would be at greater risk to wildfire impacts as a result of climate change by mid-century. One hospital in Los Angeles County was anticipated to be at greater risk due to flooding by mid-century as a result of climate-related sea-level rise.

Conclusion

This analysis suggests that several Los Angeles County hospitals should focus their climate-change-related planning on building resiliency to wildfires.

AdelaineSA, SatoM, JinY, GodwinH. An Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Los Angeles (California USA) Hospitals, Wildfires Highest Priority. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):556–562.

Keywords

climate changehospitalwildfire
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 32 , Issue 5 , October 2017 , pp. 556 - 562
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: none.

References

1. Garfin, G, Franco, G, Blanco, H, et al. “Ch. 20: Southwest. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment.” In Melillo JM, Richmond TC, Yohe GW, (eds). Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Washington, DC USA: US Global Change Research Program; 2014: 462-486.Google Scholar
2. Walsh, J, Wuebbles, D, Hayhoe, K, et al. “Ch. 2: Our Changing Climate. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment.” In Melillo JM, Richmond TC, Yohe GW, (eds). Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Washington, DC USA: US Global Change Research Program; 2014: 19-67.Google Scholar
3. Sun, F, Walton, DB, Hall, A. A hybrid dynamical–statistical downscaling technique. Part II: end-of-century warming projections predict a new climate state in the Los Angeles region. J Climate. 2015;28(12):4618-4636.Google Scholar
4. Braga, AL, Zanobetti, A, Schwartz, J. The effects of weather on respiratory and cardiovascular deaths in 12 US cities. Environ Health Perspectives. 2002;110(9):859-863.Google Scholar
5. Reid, CE, Mann, JK, Alfasso, R, et al. Evaluation of a heat vulnerability index on abnormally hot days: an environmental public health tracking study. Environ Health Perspectives. 2012;120(5):715-720.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Cooney, CM. Preparing a people: climate change and public health. Environ Health Perspectives. 2011;119(4):a166-a171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. Ebi, KL, Semenza, JC. Community-based adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. Am J Prev Med. 2008;35(5):501-507.Google Scholar
8. Kjellstrom, T, McMichael, AJ. Climate change threats to population health and well-being: the imperative of protective solutions that will last. Glob Health Action. 2013;6(0):20816.Google Scholar
9. Rappold, AG, Cascio, WE, Kilaru, VJ, et al. Cardio-respiratory outcomes associated with exposure to wildfire smoke are modified by measures of community health. Environ Health.. 2012;11(1):71.Google Scholar
10. Shea, KM, Truckner, RT, Weber, RW, Peden, DB. Climate change and allergic disease. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;122(3):443-453.Google Scholar
11. Dohrenwend, P, Thomas, C. The impact on emergency department visits for respiratory illness during the Southern California wildfires. West J Emerg Med. 2013;14(2):79-84.Google Scholar
12. Gronlund, CJ, Zanobetti, A, Schwartz, JD, Wellenius, GA, O’Neill, MS. Heat, heat waves, and hospital admissions among the elderly in the United States, 1992–2006. Environ Health Perspectives. 2014;122(11):1187-1192.Google Scholar
13. Kjellstrom, T, McMichael, AJ. Climate change threats to population health and well-being: the imperative of protective solutions that will last. Glob Health Action. 2013;6(1):20816.Google Scholar
14. Heather, C, Moore, E, Herberger, M, Allen, L. Pacific Institute, Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in California. White paper from California Energy Commission’s California Climate Change Center. http://www.energy.ca.gov/2012publications/CEC-500-2012-013/CEC-500-2012-013.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
15. Howitt, R, MacEwan, D, Medellin-Azura, J, Lund, J, Summer, D. Economic analysis of the 2015 drought for California agriculture. https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/files/biblio/ Final_Drought%20Report_08182015_Full_Report_WithAppendices.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
16. Jin, Y, Randerson, JT, Capps, S, Hall, A, Faivre, N, Goulden, ML. Contrasting controls on wildland fires in Southern California during periods with and without Santa Ana events. J Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences. 2014;119(3):432-450.Google Scholar
17. Westerling, AL, Bryant, BP, Preisler, HK, et al. Climate change and growth scenarios for California wildfire. Climatic Change. 2011;109(1):445-463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18. Finlay, SE, Moffat, A, Gazzard, R, Baker, D, Murray, V. Health impacts of wildfires. PLOS Currents Disasters. 2012;1 .Google Scholar
19. Kangovi, S, Barg, FK, Carter, T, Long, JA, Shannon, R, Grande, D. Understanding why patients of low socioeconomic status prefer hospitals over ambulatory care. Health Aff (Millwood). 2013;32(7):1196-1203.Google Scholar
20. California HealthCare Foundation. California hospitals: An evolving environment. California Health Care Almanac. http://www.chcf.org/~/media/MEDIA%20LIBRARY%20Files/PDF/PDF%20C/PDF%20CaliforniaHospitals2015.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
21. Hall, A, Qu, X, Neelin, JD. Improving predictions of summer climate change in the United States. Geophysical Research Letters. 2008;35(1):L01702.Google Scholar
22. Los Angeles Department of Public Health. Climate and health series - Report 2. Framework for addressing climate change in Los Angeles County. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ eh/docs/FrameworkforAddressingClimateChange.Aug2014.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
23. State of California, Department of Finance. Report P-1 (total population): State and county population projections, 2010-2060. Sacramento, California USA. December 2014. http://explore.regionalchange.ucdavis.edu/ourwork/projects/ccep/california-demographic-data-and-gis-maps/california-population-projections-2010-2060-1. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
24. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sea level rise and coastal flooding impacts. https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
25. CAL FIRE. Wildland hazard & building codes. Fire hazard severity zones maps. http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
26. CAL FIRE. Forestry and Fire Protection Fire and Resource Assessment Program. Fire Perimeter Maps. http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/projects/fire_data/fire_perimeters/. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
27. Fadda, E. Pattern and determinants of hospitalization during heat waves: an ecological study. BMC Public Health. 2007;7:200.Google Scholar
28. Wilkinson, P. Contrasting patterns of mortality and hospital admissions during hot weather and heat waves in Greater London, UK. Occup Environ Med. 2004;61(11):893-898.Google Scholar
29. Knowlton, K, Rotkin-Ellman, M, King, G, et al. The 2006 California heat wave: impacts on hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Environ Health Perspectives. 2009;117(1):61-67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30. Anderson, GB, Bell, ML. Heat waves in the United States: mortality risk during heat waves and effect modification by heat wave characteristics in 43 US communities. Environ Health Perspectives. 2010;119(2):210-218.Google Scholar
31. Jacob, DJ, Winner, DA. Effect of climate change on air quality. Atmospheric Environment. 2009;43(1):51-63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32. Künzli, N, McConnell, R, Bates, D, et al. Breathless in Los Angeles: the exhausting search for clean air. Am J Public Health. 2011;93(9):1494-1499.Google Scholar
33. Kwan, JL, Park, BK, Carpenter, TE, Ngo, V, Civen, R, Reisen, WK. Comparison of enzootic risk measures for predicting West Nile Disease, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2004–2010. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012;18(8):1298-1306.Google Scholar
34. Harrigan, RJ, Thomassen, HA, Buermann, W, Smith, TB. A continental risk assessment of West Nile virus under climate change. Glob Change Biology. 2014;20(8):2417-2425.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Acute communicable disease control case volume for Los Angeles County. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/vectorwestnile.htm. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar
36. Office of Statewide Planning and Design. Emergency department encounter summary report. California Emergency Department Patient Data. http://report.oshpd.ca.gov/?DID=PID&RID=Facility_Summary_Report_Emergency_Department. Accessed May 24, 2016.Google Scholar