(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Emergency rooms around the city and suburbs are expecting an increase in patients over the next day or so because of the heat.
The emergency room at Stroger Hospital has brought in some extra equipment this week, including items that are too large to keep around all the time.
"The most effective way to cool a hyperthermic patient is by evaporative cooling,” says attending physician Dr. Mike Schindlbeck.
"So, we're spraying them down with misters -- spray bottles. And then we have several large fans that are set up to blow across them. And that's really the quickest way to cool down the human body."
He says many of the patients they treat for heat-related problems are elderly.
"As I was talking to my residents earlier today, we take pride in our neighborhoods. We look out for one another. I tell everybody, ‘Make sure you're checking in on loved ones.’”
And he reminds people that cooling centers are open.
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