As a heat dome encapsulates the East and Midwest, hospitals are seeing an uptick in heat-related illnesses, and some are losing air conditioning.
A heat dome is a prolonged, intense heat wave that is stuck over a region for days or weeks, according to National Geographic. The National Weather Service predicts the extreme heat will affect nearly 160 million people this week, with temperatures reaching the upper 90s in the Midwest and triple digits possible along the East Coast.
In New York City, the air-conditioning system broke down at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, which set up fans and enhanced monitoring. Chicago-based Provident Hospital of Cook County experienced difficulty when one of its eight air conditioners was out of commission on June 23. As crews worked to repair the unit, staff set up portable air conditioners and conducted hourly checks to ensure safe temperatures.
Another Chicago hospital, Weiss Memorial Hospital, canceled procedures and evacuated its inpatient unit the week of June 16 after inside temperatures rose to 90 degrees. Its air-conditioning system failed two weeks earlier, and the issue may last another two weeks, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The patients at Weiss were moved to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Ill., which also reached high internal temperatures, according to the Times.
“Currently, a maintenance employee is walking the building and manually taking temperatures in every department with the proper equipment,” West Suburban officials told the news outlet. “The unit that became extremely hot yesterday has had all of the patients removed off of that unit and into a different unit. Rooms that are above temperatures on the open units remain empty.”
