"By far the worst year": Phoenix doctor says Arizona hospital overwhelmed by heat-related illnesses

Record ID: 1736809

  • Title: "By far the worst year": Phoenix doctor says Arizona hospital overwhelmed by heat-related illnesses
  • Date: 7th August 2023
  • Summary: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 2, 2023) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. FRANK LOVECCHIO WITH VALLEYWISE HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER, SAYING: "Unfortunately, some of them are found down on the ground and just being on the ground for a little bit can cause burns. So we do have a Burn Center here, one of the busiest burn centers in the country and they have unfortunately seen a lot of patients with surface burns or contact burns, meaning that you touch something that's really hot. So I feel lightheaded, I feel dizzy, I'm tired, and then I pass out. I pass out on the ground and the ground temperature can be pretty high. You know, when the temperature outside is 100 degrees Fahrenheit and, you know, the pavement is in direct sun, the temperature can rise above 150 degrees." PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES (RECENT- JULY 26, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF THERMAL CAMERA DISPLAYING THE TEMPERATURE OF AREA PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 2, 2023) (Reuters) EMERGENCY AND TRAUMA CENTER SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. FRANK LOVECCHIO WITH VALLEYWISE HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER, SAYING: "Well, you know, I've been here since 1996, and this is by far the worst year that we've had with regard to heat and it's multifactorial, but one of the main reasons we have a lot of concrete, you know, in the center of town, we don't have a lot of shade and it causes this concrete sort of jungle effect, where monsoons can't come in. Usually, you know, back in the old days, only like ten years ago or so, you get a monsoon almost every day. Now we get monsoons on the periphery or the outside of the city. You know, we're a valley, we have mountains all around and we're kind of baking inside and the monsoon sometimes can't come in because the temperature is so hot, even at night. So we've had all these days in a row where the temperature at night never got below 90 degrees." VALLEYWISE HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. FRANK LOVECCHIO WITH VALLEYWISE HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER, SAYING: "You know, we underestimate the number of deaths related to heat. But right now, so far during this epidemic, we've had 25 deaths related to the heat, but there's over 250 patients that are under investigation, whether it's heat related or not. The thing with heat is any time the temperature rises that high, it makes almost all your diseases worse. Your diabetes gets worse. If you have heart disease that gets worse. If you have lung disease that gets worse. And many times they might come in with a heart attack because maybe they went outside, they were straining themselves, puts a big strain on the body. And unfortunately, that might get listed as a heart attack or heart related death. So it is under-reported right now. You know, we're trying to be better about it, about reporting, you know, when they're they are actually heat-related."
  • Embargoed: 21st August 2023 15:53
  • Keywords: Arizona Phoenix heat wave
  • Location: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES
  • City: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Environment,North America,Temperature
  • Reuters ID: LVA003184102082023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As the world registered the hottest month of all time in July, the southwestern U.S. city of Phoenix shattered its own 1974 heat-wave record, with temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43°C) for 31 straight days.
    Heat-sensitive photography in late July reveals an even hotter Phoenix, where concrete on the street registers 150 F (66°C), outdoor workers' bodies reach 105 F (41°C) and homeless people swelter, surrounded by surfaces as hot as 143 F (62°C).
    Before 10 a.m. at one of the city's favorite sites - the Desert Botanical Garden - the thermometer is already at 111F (44°C), but a Saguaro cactus records a surface temperature of 120F (49°C). A man walks on a road with no shirt and a bottle of water. The camera puts his temperature at 105F.
    The summer monsoon rains that historically help Phoenix residents and the vegetation cool down have been scant this year and even the cacti have started to collapse.
    Health workers say hospitals have been inundated with patients suffering from heat-stroke, sometimes life-threatening.
    ""It's a very, very troubling time," said Dr. Frank LoVecchio at Valleywise Health in Phoenix. "We haven't been this busy with regard to saturation in the hospital with the number of patients that are this sick since the COVID pandemic."
    Patients are put into an ice slurry to bring their temperatures down as quickly as possible.
    At noon, the record temperature is 109F but the surface temperature is a furnace-like 150F. A construction worker drinks water and the camera shows his body is at 105F.
    Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, is now a city of 1.6 million, the fifth most populous in the United States. It sprang to life over 150 years ago with the arrival of the pioneers, who built irrigation canals to make the land fertile.
    Despite its location in the Sonoran Desert - which stretches across the U.S. southwest and into northern Mexico - Phoenix has become a favorite place for retirees, attracted by year-round sun and its ochre mountain backdrop.
    Sometimes people pass out on the scalding pavement, suffering serious burns on their bodies.
    With day after day of relentless heat and evenings that remain at 90F (32°C), there is little chance for the homeless to recover and hydrate. The heat also worsens conditions like diabetes, lung disease, and heart issues. And some suffer memory loss and cognitive decline.
    Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, reported 39 confirmed heat-associated deaths by the end of July, with over 300 more under investigation to determine if they were caused by heat.
    (Production: Liliana Salgado)
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