World Cup-related trips to KC ERs ‘uneventful’ so far. Returning heat is concern
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Hospitals initially planned for 20–30% but later lowered estimate to about 8%.
- University Health treated 16 World Cup-related patients of varied issues.
- Heat indexes over 100 are expected beginning Sunday and may raise ER demand.
Kansas City-area hospitals that planned for nearly two years to take care of World Cup fans haven’t seen the anticipated uptick in their emergency room traffic.
World Cup-related trips to the ER have been “uneventful” so far, a University Health physician said Friday.
But hospital officials are concerned about an expected surge of dangerous heat and humidity the National Weather Service says could push heat index values above 100 beginning this weekend.
“One of the things that we anticipated was the estimate (of) about 20 to 30% increase in volume in our emergency departments. I don’t know that we’ve seen that,” University Health trauma surgeon Dr. Michael Moncure said on “Healthy Goals KC,” the hospital’s limited-edition webcast during World Cup.
University Health, which operates the closest emergency room to the FIFA Fan Festival on the lawn of the National WWI Museum and Memorial, has treated 16 patients so far with issues related to World Cup activities, Moncure said.
Their ailments included “heat exhaustion, substance and alcohol abuse, one appendicitis that one of my colleagues had to take out, and then other things, minor injuries, ankle sprains and such,” he said.
“I think one of the things we’ve been fortunate with is our usual Kansas City summer has not arrived yet.
“And that would be kind of a game changer if there were that many people out at the stadium or in the Fan Fest … in sweltering heat. So we’ve been very fortunate.”
Other hospitals in the region are also experiencing lighter-than-expected ER traffic related to the soccer event, said Steve Hoeger, University Health’s corporate director of emergency management and regional emergency preparedness coordinator.
“We were originally planning for that higher number,” said Hoeger. “And then talking to FIFA and getting better estimates, we dropped our percent of increase to about 8%. And we’re still not seeing that.”
Heat-related issues were the No. 1 concern for area hospitals.
Local health departments and hospitals, many of which planned nearly two years for this event, have posted medical advice and tips for soccer fans on their websites and social media accounts.
Heat exhaustion and stroke during a typically toasty Kansas City summer was the biggest concern.
“We’ve been unseasonably cool going into this,” said Hoeger. “So tomorrow night, Saturday night, is match number four and we should be pretty good temperature-wise.
“Starting Sunday, summer’s coming back to Kansas City. We’ll have heat into the 90s. We’ll have heat indexes over 100. Our next match will then be Friday, July 3rd. And I think we will be in summertime weather by that point.
“So while it’s been pretty uneventful so far, we still have three matches to go. Two of those will probably have pretty good summer weather. So we still have to really be worried about those things that we’ve been planning for for two years.”
After Saturday, the next World Cup match is July 3, which coincides with the always-busy Fourth of July weekend. Some people will have Friday off as their recognized work holiday.
“So people aren’t going to be working. They’ll get off Thursday afternoon, probably, and they’ll start celebrating that entire weekend. Fan Fest will be open,” said Hoeger. “They don’t have to work Friday, Saturday, Sunday. A lot of picnics and other events happening.
“So yeah, there will be a lot going on in Kansas City.”
Temperatures are expected to climb into the low 90s on Sunday and Monday, and then into the mid-90s on Tuesday through Thursday.
The weather service said heat advisories and warnings might be needed next week.
University Health has created a limited-edition webcast, Healthy Goals KC, that will go live on YouTube the day after each World Cup match in Kansas City, hospital officials announced Wednesday.
The webcast will provide World Cup-related health information from physicians — from discussions about major injuries that might happen during the games to health advice for fans. (Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.)
The hospital — formerly Truman Medical Center — noted that its emergency department is the closest to Fan Fest, which will take place about a mile away on the lawn of the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Keeping thousands of fans from around the world healthy and safe will be a heavy lift for Kansas City’s medical community, from local hospitals to the emergency medical services of paramedics and first responders.
Public health officials have spent more than a year-and-a-half preparing for what they consider their biggest concerns: the Kansas City heat, a measles outbreak, cases of food poisoning and sexually transmitted infections, or STIs.
Health departments in nine local counties on the Missouri and Kansas sides — along with city of Kansas City and Independence health departments — have coordinated their preparations and World Cup safety messaging.
The Healthy Goals KC webcast can be found on the hospital’s YouTube channel, @UniversityHealthKC.
They go live the morning after each match unless the match is on a Friday or Saturday. Then they go live the following Monday.
The 30-minute webcasts will begin at 8 a.m. on June 17, 22 and 26, and July 6 and 13.
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