Practitioners at hospitals across the city, including the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, have conducted simulation drills to prepare for the four-day event, during which many patients under the age of 18 are often admitted after consuming too much alcohol, taking drugs or remaining in the heat without adequate hydration. However, the number of ER visits during the festival have declined in recent years.
The busiest day for hospital ERs is typically the first day of the festival, the report states. Last year, more than 230 individuals were transported to hospital ERs for treatment. Patients or their insurers paid an average of $1,500 to $3,000 for those visits.
Festival organizers have agreed to cover the cost of private ambulances if an individual needs transportation inside festival grounds, and will pay for fire department ambulances for people outside the festival if they are wearing Lollapalooza wristbands. The average ambulance ride costs $1,000, according to CBS2 Chicago.
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