The extreme weather is causing heat illness among the vulnerable in the Inland Empire.
More people are going to urgent care or the hospital for heat exhaustion and heat stroke, according to Loma Linda University Medical Center’s Dr. Adrian Cotton.
“We’ve actually seen a significant increase in people coming to our Urgent Care and our Emergency Room. Not all those people need to be admitted but we have some admissions because of heat stroke,” said Cotton.
Heat is the cause of more reported deaths per year on average in the United States than any other weather hazard, according to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. In California, heat-related deaths and illnesses peaked in 2006 when the state experienced a prolonged and severe heat wave. The office's data show 140 deaths from 2006.
Patients at Loma Linda University Medical Center are mostly from vulnerable populations, such as the unhoused, older people and low-income residents.
According to Cotton, low-income patients are arriving for treatment because they are not running their air conditioners or may lack access to air conditioning all together. In addition to those who can not afford to cool their homes down, the elderly may not even notice the effect the heat is having on them.
“Older people may not be aware that it's as hot as it is inside their house,” said Cotton.
He advises people to drink a lot of water and check on vulnerable neighbors and family.
Los Angeles County, too, is experiencing high temperatures with an excessive heat warning in place until 9 p.m. on Monday.
LA County officials said residents without air conditioning at home can take advantage of cooling centers, with information on locations available at https://ready.lacounty.gov/heat/ or by calling 211.
Cotton said his medical center has seen more heat illness cases in the last few days than the staff usually sees all year.