Heat-related illness (HRI) ranging from mild (heat cramps) to severe (heat stroke, death) occurs when the body is unable to properly cool itself. The Virginia Department of Health monitors emergency department (ED) and urgent care visits for HRI to determine the effect of extreme heat on people seeking healthcare in Virginia. Information about the case definition used to identify HRI visits is included in this guidance document from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Please consider syndromic surveillance data limitations when interpreting HRI visit data.
The dashboard below shows HRI visits (by residents and out of state visitors) to EDs and urgent cares in Virginia. By using the drop-down menus, HRI data can be viewed by year and geography. Use the VDH Geography Locator Tool to find the assigned Health Region for a city or county locality in Virginia. HRI visit counts are combined for some cities and counties due to zip codes spanning multiple localities. A list of combined cities and counties can be found here.
This dashboard will be updated on weekdays (Monday – Friday) in July and August, and updated weekly on Mondays in May, June, and September.
Complete a quick survey to share your experience using heat-related illness data.
Data sets for the HRI dashboard are available for download through the Virginia Open Data Portal.