Hospitals should treat nurse staffing as essential emergency infrastructure during heat waves, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing argue in a new editorial. The piece warns that patients with heat-related illness need constant, hands-on monitoring, and that hospitals without enough nurses may struggle to deliver standard care when heat waves bring sudden surges of patients.
The argument matters to families in cities from Phoenix to Philadelphia. When a heat wave hits, older relatives, outdoor workers, and people with chronic illness may need emergency care at the same time, and the quality of that care depends partly on how many nurses are on shift.
