Uptick in weather-related injuries, conditions
As Long Islanders emerge from their homes to dig out from the massive snowstorm, hospitals and emergency dispatchers are seeing an uptick in weather-related injuries and conditions.
At Stony Brook Hospital, the increase began in the early afternoon as the snow was beginning to taper off, said Dr. Peter McKenna, medical director of the emergency department.
“The biggest one and the most major thing that we see is an increase in the number of heart attacks right after a storm,” he said. “People go outside into the cold and they shovel heavy snow, and it's the most physical activity that they've done all year. And they kind of fail their own stress test.”
Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services saw a lull during the night, but starting in the morning, as residents began shoveling, there was an increase in calls for slips and falls, back injuries and chest pain, said Rudy Sunderman, commissioner of the agency, which handles dispatches for about three-quarters of the county’s volunteer fire department and emergency medical services agencies.
David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.
Weekend weather outlook ... Gary Sinise partners with LI school ... Adult Happy Meals
