Deadly heat wave overwhelms hospitals in the Northwest

The blistering heat wave battering the Pacific Northwest this week has already killed around a dozen people in the U.S. and sent more than 1,000 people to local medical facilities.

The Oregon Health Authority said in a Tuesday release that beginning on June 25, Portland Metro area hospitals recorded 506 heat-related emergency and urgent care visits, with 251 visits due to heat on Monday alone.

Additionally, Oregon Health Authority spokesperson Delia Hernández said that 128 people visited state hospitals for heat-related illnesses on Sunday, when record-breaking temperatures reached their peak.

Comparatively, there were 24 heat-related hospital visits on Friday and 56 on Saturday.

"The extreme temperatures we have experienced over four successive days can lead to serious health complications, and we are now seeing the resulting demand for emergency services provided by our hospitals," Dr. Dana Hargunani, chief medical officer for OHA, said in the news bulletin. "Right now we are asking the public to treat potential heat-related illnesses as serious, but work with healthcare providers in non-emergency settings when appropriate who can address these conditions to ensure capacity remains available for regional ED services."