Strong Memorial Hospital prepares for the 4th of July holiday

ROCHESTER N.Y. (WROC) – Independence Day is just three days away. Medical Director of the Adult Emergency Department, Dr. Aekta Miglani says they are ready to take on the holiday.

“We are entirely staffed up for both the 4th of July as well as the 5th of July. Our urgent cares are open. On July 4th itself, they’re open from 9-5. The last patient will get registered around 4 O’clock or so and the E.D. is always 24/7,” she said.

She says near this holiday it is common for her staff to see significant and life-changing injuries related to fireworks.

“Anything that has any significant amount of explosive in it. So, anything that isn’t a sparkler, anything that’s not a popper, anything that has any additional type of chemical reaction in it is more likely to cause an explosion,” she said.

Dr. Miglani says In her 10 years of experience, she says a lot of the firework-related visits come from a typical demographic.

“Late teens to early 40’s, which is a pretty wide range. Tends to be males and oftentimes there’s alcohol involved,” said Dr. Miglani.

She says a lot of the injuries seen are when there isn’t a barrier in place between the person who is lighting the firework and the firework itself, when fireworks don’t go off in the direction as expected, or the timing is off.

“Every year we work really closely with our trauma division who we’re lucky to collaborate with on a regular basis, but 4th of July is one of those holidays where we’ll be working my guess is more frequently than others,” she said.

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