In Phoenix, where summer temperatures regularly soar into triple digits, a nonprofit organization called Circle the City is taking a proactive approach to protect the city’s homeless population from potentially fatal heat-related illnesses. Their street medicine teams, equipped with mobile clinics, search for homeless individuals in need of medical attention, offering services ranging from wound care to medication refills.
The organization has introduced a novel IV rehydration program, allowing them to administer intravenous saline solutions on the spot to severely dehydrated individuals. This initiative comes in response to the alarming number of heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, where nearly half of the record 645 heat-related fatalities in 2023 were homeless individuals.
Circle the City’s approach goes beyond immediate medical care. The organization works closely with local hospitals to ensure continuity of care for homeless patients after hospitalization. They also operate respite care facilities and assist in finding longer-term housing solutions for their patients.
The impact of climate change is evident in the increasing prevalence of heat-related illnesses among homeless populations, even in traditionally cooler cities like Boston. As temperatures rise, healthcare providers across the country are being challenged to adapt their services to protect this vulnerable group.
“We go out every day and find them,” said nurse practitioner Perla Puebla in an interview with AP News, highlighting the proactive nature of their work. “We do their wound care, medication refills for diabetes, antibiotics, high blood pressure.”
Read the compete article by Anita Snow for AP News on July 1, 2024: Street medicine teams search for homeless people to deliver lifesaving IV hydration in extreme heat
Watch this video by 12 News in Phoenix from June 7, 2024:
And watch this video by Arizona’s Family 3 TV from June 5, 2024: