Planning for an annual episodic mass gathering: emergency department and clinic utilization in Yellowstone.

Objective: Planning and providing emergency and primary care for a large transient population of visitors and employees in a national park can be problematic. Furthermore, planning for emergency and primary health care needs of visitors and itinerant workers in a wilderness area national park has not been well documented. A study was performed to analyze emergency and primary health care utilization in a national park.

Methods: Data was gathered from all patients presenting to Lake Hospital Emergency Department in Yellowstone in 1995, and a retrospective chart review was performed.

Results: Two distinct populations with different health care needs were identified.

Conclusion: Utilization analysis revealed differences between conventional mass gatherings and the mass gatherings in Yellowstone. Because of the unique conditions and populations found in a wilderness area, conventional mass gathering emergency medical service models may not be an appropriate model for planning health care in a national park. Analysis of utilization data can help plan resources for emergency and primary health care for a park population.