PERSONAL: "I gotta slow my flow": Homeless Arizona man receives IV hydration in blistering heat wave

Record ID: 1822220

  • Title: PERSONAL: "I gotta slow my flow": Homeless Arizona man receives IV hydration in blistering heat wave
  • Date: 5th June 2024
  • Summary: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 5, 2024) (REUTERS ) STREET WITH HEAT HAZE IN THE DISTANCE VARIOUS OF JEROME LEE, HOMELESS PHOENIX MAN, TALKING TO CIRCLE THE CITY’S MOBILE MEDICAL TEAM COOLING CENTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) JEROME LEE, 49, UNSHELTERED MAN LIVING IN PHOENIX, SAYING: "It doesn't faze me, but it's freaking hot man. I could feel it. I got dark, I look like a lizard now." VARIOUS OF LEE RECEIVING IV TREATMENT FROM NURSES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PERLA PUEBLA, 33, ASSOCIATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF STREET MEDICINE AT CIRCLE THE CITY, SAYING: "So we found that he had moderate dehydration. He, he was tachycardic. His heart rate was 120, high blood pressure by about 140 over 100. He reported he hadn't been drinking water, and he had been drinking alcohol. So, we offered him an IV hydration, so a liter of normal saline that infused over 20, 30 minutes. And when we took his vital signs afterwards, he was already reporting that he was feeling better. He had, less headache, thinking more clearly, but his vital signs also showed it. You could see that the heart rate had decreased to 97, and even his blood pressure had decreased to about 130 over 90." IV INJECTION ON LEE’S HAND LEE IV PUMP LEE AND NURSES NURSE BADGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JEROME LEE, 49, UNSHELTERED MAN LIVING IN PHOENIX, SAYING: "My head, I mean, my head, I was dizzy. I had a headache, this heat is hot over here in Phoenix. I could feel it. It's getting hotter too, so I gotta be, I gotta slow my flow and stop what I'm doing. It is hot." LEE AND NURSES VARIOUS OF PUEBLA ON COMPUTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) PERLA PUEBLA, 33, ASSOCIATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF STREET MEDICINE AT CIRCLE THE CITY, SAYING: "Well, that was really the big impulse for us to start these services here in Street Medicine Central, Central Phoenix was because of the amount of deaths that was suffered last year, which was a 52% increase from 2022. We did encounter a lot of patients last year. They needed IV hydration, but they didn't want to go to the emergency room. They didn't want to leave their belongings behind. So now this year, we're hoping we can help save some lives with the IV hydration." VARIOUS STREETS WITH HEAT HAZE IN THE DISTANCE HOMELESS PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) PERLA PUEBLA, 33, ASSOCIATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF STREET MEDICINE AT CIRCLE THE CITY, SAYING: "So people that are out here are profusely sweating. They're not drinking enough water, they don't have enough water. That means they're becoming dehydrated really fast. Not only that, if they are using any substances, sometimes the substances the drugs can increase also the temperature of your body. And if you are a little bit impaired, you're not sure what's going on, if you have a fall on this pavement, you can also have, you know, severe burns from, you know, from the heat." MAN WALKING ON BIKE / MAN WALKING MAN WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MATT SALERNO, METEOROLOGIST AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX OFFICE, SAYING: "Yeah, so as of right now, it has been predicted that, we will see another above normal summer as far as the temperatures go. It may not be as prolonged of a, of excessive heat as we saw last summer. However, that was like a whole month was worth of excessive heat and that's extremely, kind of on the rare side of things. However, these, stretches of these heat waves that we're going to be seeing could continue all the way through, you know, July and August." PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MATT SALERNO, METEOROLOGIST AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX OFFICE, SAYING: "And then the next couple of days, we're actually looking at highs closer to 115, approaching 115 actually. Tomorrow we've got a high, high forecasted of 114 in Phoenix and similar conditions on Friday as well. And we actually may hit a record high on both of those days potentially as well." STREET WITH HEAT HAZE
  • Embargoed: 20th June 2024 00:06
  • Keywords: Heat wave climate change heat weather
  • Location: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES
  • City: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Environment,North America,Temperature
  • Reuters ID: LVA001840405062024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As temperatures slowly neared 110 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday (June 5), Jerome Lee, a 49-year-old homeless Phoenix man, began to feel the impact on his body.
    Lee arrived at a mobile medical clinic operated by Circle the City with visible exhaustion.
    “His heart rate was 120, high blood pressure by about 140 over 100. He reported he hadn't been drinking water,” said Perla Puebla, 33, Associate Medical Director of street medicine at Circle the City.
    Puebla began an I.V. treatment on Lee. 20 to 30 minutes later, his vitals improved.
    “You could see that the heart rate had decreased to 97, and even his blood pressure had decreased to about 130 over 90,” Puebla said.
    For Lee and others like him, access to basic necessities such as water and shelter becomes a matter of life and death as temperatures climb.
    The homeless outreach program gives unhoused people access to medical care.
    "Last year, we witnessed a 52% increase in deaths due to extreme heat," Puebla explained.
    A total of 645 people died from the heat in 2023, according to a preliminary report by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
    The temperature in Phoenix surpassed the 110-degree mark for 31 consecutive days in 2024.
    The previous record streak was last recorded in June 1974, when it was above 110 degrees for 18 days straight.
    The National Weather Service (NWS) Phoenix office predicts Phoenix will experience a similar summer this year.
    “It has been predicted that we will see another above normal summer as far as the temperatures go. It may not be as prolonged of a excessive heat as we saw last summer,” said Matt Salerno, Meteorologist at the National Weather Service Phoenix Office.
    "And then the next couple of days, we're actually looking at highs closer to 115, approaching 115 actually,” he added.
    (Production: Liliana Salgado)
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