Updated: February 2024

Author: Division of Environmental Health, Vermont Department of Health

This indicator, or population measure, is part of our Healthy Vermonters 2030 data set. Read more about how this data helps us understand and improve the well-being of people in Vermont on the Healthy Vermonters 2030 webpage.

Because this data is meant to show how the health of our state changes during the decade from 2020-2030, some indicators may have very few data points for now. Keep checking back to see the progress our public health system and partners are making.

By 2030, we want to see this indicator maintain the baseline rate of 13 heat-related emergency department visits per 100,000 people. Because climate change is increasing heat hazards in Vermont, avoiding an increase in the rate of heat-related emergency department visits is more realistic than reducing the rate. 

There is currently only a single data point for this indicator as the baseline for Healthy Vermonters 2030. As we report more data over the coming decade we will be able to monitor the trend over time.

Heat-related emergency department visits can vary widely each year depending on the number of abnormally hot days, whether the heat occurred on weekends or holidays when people are spending more time outside, whether the heat occurred as part of a multi-day heat wave, and whether the heat occurred early in the year before people had time to adapt to warmer weather.

Looking for more data?

• Look at previous data on heat-related emergency department visits from our 2020 Scorecards (note this is for all people).
• See a related national Healthy People 2030 objective for reducing diseases and deaths related to heat. Note that this is a developmental indicator and currently does not have national data.

Climate change is already increasing heat-related health impacts in Vermont. Vermonters are more susceptible to heat-related illness for several reasons, including lack of acclimation and lack of air conditioning in older buildings. It is unclear if our ability to adapt will keep pace with the projected increase in heat hazards. For these reasons, we believe that it is important to track the rate of heat-related emergency department visits over the next 10 years. 

Current or potential users of heat illness data include local and regional planners, community partners, health and medical professionals, state government partners, and the local offices of the National Weather Service.

People that are generally the most affected by hot weather include those that are more health-sensitive to heat and/or more exposed to hot conditions. These include older adults, young children, people with chronic health conditions, people with disabilities, outdoor workers and hobbyists, people that are unhoused, and people in urban areas. Impacts are generally more severe for people that also lack sufficient adaptive capacity, such as people that do not have and cannot access air-conditioning, that live alone, have limited financial resources, and/or limited transportation mobility. 

The intersection of people over age 65 with the higher likelihood of chronic health conditions, disabilities related to age, living alone, limited financial resources, and limited transportation mobility make this an especially vulnerable population.

Strategies that can help reduce disparities include opening public cooling daytime centers and overnight shelters, providing transportation services to access cooling centers, providing financial assistance for purchasing and operating air conditioning at home, building caregiver capacity for recognizing and responding to heat risks, and planting shade trees near homes and in urban neighborhoods.

The Health Department is actively supporting identification and communication of public cooling sites, local and regional planning for hot weather emergencies, and education and outreach about heat hazards and safety tips. Important next priorities include building caregiver capacity to support heat safety among clients, and collaborating with facilities that serve sensitive populations to support cooling infrastructure upgrades and heat emergency preparedness.

One major need is for financial resources to strategically support air conditioning installation or upgrades. Many communities lack buildings that could be operated as cooling centers or shelters; many facilities that serve sensitive populations do not have air conditioning; many homes are not adequately air conditioned; and many unhoused Vermonters have no access to shelter space during summer. Another major area of need is to improve systems for identifying and responding to high-risk Vermonters that may need extra assistance during a heat emergency. This includes older adults.

Learn more about how we can all identify and address vulnerabilities related to climate change: Climate Change and Vulnerable Populations | Vermont Department of Health (healthvermont.gov)

Since exposure to extreme heat in Vermont is likely to increase in the coming decade, maintaining the baseline value would be considered a success for our program. This means we would be keeping the health impacts the same, despite increasing exposure to extreme heat. 

The Vermont Uniform Hospital Discharge Data System (VUHDDS) consists of inpatient discharge data, outpatient procedures and services data, and emergency department data. Learn more about the data source on our Hospital Discharge Data webpage.

See more data about all kinds of environmental health topics on our Environmental Public Health Data Tracking page.