Overview

• Hospitals nationwide have bolstered staffing with extra trauma teams and postponed elective procedures to manage more than 45,000 expected ER visits over July 4 and 5.
• Pediatric emergency doctors strongly advise against allowing children to handle fireworks or sparklers after a 52% rise in firework injuries and about 1,700 sparkler-related ER treatments in 2024.
• Motor vehicle crashes and alcohol-related incidents spike during the holiday weekend, prompting authorities to stress the use of designated sober drivers.
• Extreme summer heat is driving up cases of dehydration and heat-related illness while increased water activities are leading to more near-drownings, reinforcing calls for constant water-watch supervision and life jacket use.
• Improper handling and prolonged outdoor exposure of food contribute to common holiday food poisoning, with experts urging limits on food display times and strict separation of raw and cooked items.