Heat-related emergency room visits quadruple as dangerous heat wave slams NYC
Heat-related emergency room visits more than quadrupled on Thursday as New York reached sizzling temperatures with the heat index forecast to climb above 100 degrees. And with days still left in the heat wave, doctors worry worse could still be on the way.
There were 25 heat-related emergency room visits in the city on Thursday, up from just six visits the day before, according to city data.
“Things are heating up, literally,” Dr. Erick Eiting, Emergency Medicine Physician at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, told the Daily News.
Heat can have deadly health impacts, especially on older adults and those with chronic health conditions. On average, over 100 people suffer heat-related deaths in New York City every year.
Some Mount Sinai hospitals are also seeing more patients for symptoms such as dehydration, nausea and fatigue, according to spokesperson Ilana Nikravesh.
Eiting said patients at the hospital’s emergency department are coming in with non-specific heat-related symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. Some people who’ve been outside for long periods of time come in with cramping, and blood tests have revealed some signs of kidney damage or muscle breakdown due to dehydration.
Overall, the heat health impacts have been fairly mild, he said. But as the heat wave continues on Friday and Saturday, he worries that more people might fall to heat-related illness.
“Sometimes just taking one day off and saying, ‘I’m just going to take it easy, or I’m going to stay inside and stay in the air conditioning,’ — doing that for one day is very easy,” Eiting said. “I think it gets harder and harder to do that when we’re talking about multiple days. So I just worry that there may be more and more people who are put in the position where they’re going to have to go and spend more time in this environment.”
The heat will remain in the 90s, with heat index values, which take into account humidity, staying in the low 100s, through Friday and Saturday.
There’s no chance of it letting up until Sunday, said Brian Ciemnecki, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the city, effective from Thursday at 11 a.m. until Friday at 9 p.m., though that could be extended.
SOMOS Community Care, a network of health clinics largely in lower income neighborhoods, has seen a rise in health-related visits and calls.
[W]e are seeing a serious uptick not just in calls and concerns over heat illnesses, but in conditions themselves especially among seniors and essential workers, including delivery, hourly and shift workers who are biking in brutal heat,” said Dr. Ramón Tallaj, Chairman of SOMOS Community Care.
To avoid extreme heat conditions like heat exhaustion or heat stroke, Tallaj encouraged people without air conditioning to go to cooling centers or find family or friends with air conditioning, drink lots of water, and keep a bowl of ice with a towel nearby.
All medium- and Olympic-size pools at city parks are open to swimmers an extra hour, until 8 p.m., through Saturday, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
State-run facilities including, Roberto Clemente State Park, Riverbank State Park and Gantry Plaza State Park, have more sprinklers and longer pool hours.
However, the city’s beaches are still operating on their regular schedule, closing at 6 p.m.
Heat can have deadly health effects, especially on older adults and those with chronic health conditions. On average, over 100 people suffer heat-related deaths in New York City every year.
“The combination of these unusually high temperatures and elevated humidity creates a potent mix signifying heightening the risk of hazardous conditions for New Yorkers,” Zach Iscol, commissioner of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, said Thursday.
The city has opened 500 cooling centers across the five boroughs as of Thursday. People can seek relief from the heat in air-conditioned public spaces until they’re expected to close on Saturday. City officials also recommend New Yorkers visit NYC.gov/beattheheat for more information on how to stay safe in the heat.
The city’s list of open cooling centers can be found online. New Yorkers can also call 311 to find a center nearby.
