Suspected heat deaths reported in midst of heat wave
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Haylee McLemore (left), Katie Stewart and Andrew Mendenhall with a mobile medical clinic. Photo: Joseph Gallivan/Axios
As temperatures soar in Portland, the Multnomah County medical examiner is investigating four suspected heat deaths.
Why it matters: Gov. Tina Kotek declared a statewide extreme heat emergency on Friday in anticipation of the heat wave expected to last through today, saying prolonged high temps pose "a clear and present danger, particularly for children, elders, people with disabilities, and people who work outside."
- The county and city of Portland also declared emergencies.
Zoom in: The county opened three cooling centers through Tuesday, to ensure vulnerable populations, including the unhoused, have access to air conditioning in the triple-digit heat.
- On Sunday, the county kept the air-conditioned Central and Gresham libraries open until 9pm and let six other libraries stay open late on Monday.
- The cooling centers had served more than 150 people across all three sites by Sunday night, county spokesperson Denis Theriault told Axios, and the Multnomah County mobile medical van also served some locations.
- Officials offered few details on the four men who died, aside from the ZIP codes where they were found, and their ages: 87, 64, 75 and 33.
What they're saying: Sulakha Hassan, a volunteer at heating and cooling centers for three years, said the center at Congregation Beth Israel in NW Portland had served 82 people on Sunday.
- Guests could occupy themselves with reading or with coloring books, and settled on cots, keeping their pets near them in wire crates.
- Hassan told Axios about 95% of the people coming in were unhoused.
- Her team actively canvassed the neighborhood, which is a heat island, and invited nearby apartment residents and their pets to the cooling center when they lost power.
How it works: One of Central City Concern's two mobile health clinics parked outside for anyone with medical issues, not just heat stroke.
- The tiny clinic has a wheelchair lift, an examining room, and medication that can be prescribed and dispensed on the spot.
- Central City Concern CEO Andrew Mendenhall, a doctor, was on hand to examine walk-up patients and, when needed, get them to a hospital.
- He did the same thing on Sunday with a severely dehydrated man he found sleeping under a tree.
- "We're giving people the care they need, when they need it. If it saves an emergency room visit, it's economically really efficient," he said.
Threat level: The Oregon Health Authority notes that heat exhaustion is treatable with first aid, but heat stroke is a medical emergency.