Arizona hospital sees pandemic-level admissions due to extreme heat

Washington, July 19 As an oppressive heat dome is currently scorching a majority of the US South, a hospital in Arizona witnessed admissions of people with heat-related issues similar to during the Covid-19 pandemic, a media report said.

“The heat is taking a major toll,” emergency room doctor Frank LoVecchio from Valleywise Health Medical Center told CNN on Tuesday.

“The hospital has not been this busy with overflow since a few peaks in the Covid pandemic,” he added.

As the scorching heat persist, there have been 12 confirmed heat-related deaths recorded in Arizona's Maricopa County so far this year as of the first week of July, and 55 under investigation as suspected heat-related deaths, according to data from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.

LoVecchio added that he has seen three to four cases per shift of patients who faced death without emergency treatment.

Valleywise Health Medical Center Communications Director Michael Murphy told CNN that in some extreme cases, they are placing patients in body bags packed with ice to help cool them off, adding the burn center has been “slammed” with patients experiencing contact burns.

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