Health centre seeing more people with breathing problems as heat wave reaches day 6
Community health centre says people are 'feeling distressed of being in the heat for extended periods of time'
As the extreme heat event continues for a sixth consecutive day, the Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre is reporting an increase in the number of people who are having difficulty breathing.
Temperatures today and Thursday are once again forecast to climb into the low to mid 30s and humidex values reaching 43 are expected.
"This is a hardship on people. We've noticed that there's a lot more people with breathing problems, feeling distressed of being in the heat for extended periods of time," the centre's executive director Denise Brooks told CBC Hamilton.
Hundreds of people have been seeking refuge from the sweltering heat by pouring into cooling centres.
The Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre, which is located on Rebecca Street, says it has seen a spike in usage, and a similar situation exists at Wesley Day Centre as people seek relief from the pounding heat.
"We see hundreds because they come through various programmes where they [go] to see their primary care provider — the doctor, the nurse practitioner, that sort of thing. So I would say a couple hundred a day are going through here for various programmes and services," Brooks said.
The inner city centre works with populations that are marginalized and most times overlooked and excluded.
Brooks explained that often, these residents don't have ready access to the things that would help them to keep cool.
"It's exacerbated if you're drinking alcohol and things like that, it exacerbates the impact of the heat," Brooks said.
"We are part of the cooling station circle, so we do keep water here and sometimes we also have things like watermelon and oranges, things like that; freezies for kids and stuff."
This is a hardship on people. We've noticed that there's a lot more people with breathing problems.- Denise Brooks
Andrea Buttars is the manager, resource development at Wesley Day Centre, one of the cooling locations on the City of Hamilton Public Health sites.
Buttars said the programme supports men and women experiencing homelessness or anyone in the community who needs a cooling place.
"It has been a very hot and unusual week for sure. The number of people accessing Wesley Day Centre has been higher in the past week. We have been seeing about 150 - 200 people per day, but people are coming in for probably longer periods of time because of the heat," Buttars told CBC Hamilton.
"We have meals and there is a healthcare centre where staff are able to provide support."
It has been a very hot and unusual week for sure.- Andrea Buttars
Buttars said there's a wide variety of cooling centres across the city and there are also pools and municipal service centres as well. They encourage people who need to cool off to make use of the facilities.
Heat wave provides opportunity to be kind to one another
Meanwhile, Brooks said the current heat event is a good opportunity for people to be kind to one another.
"If you see somebody who is on the street and looks like they are homeless, or perhaps they are not having such a good time, it's an opportunity to stop and offer some water, particularly people who are older and people with babies or young children," she said.
"Sometime they don't really see the effects until it starts to wear on them. So just keep an eye out for other people who might be in distress to get them some help as soon as possible."
At least 15 people have died of heat-related deaths nationally since the heat wave started last Friday. It is the strongest to hit Quebec in decades.
Santé Montréal, the city's public health department, said Wednesday morning the number of deaths rose to 11 in the Montreal area.
Reprieve in sight
Overnight low temperatures for today and Thursday are expected to be in the low 20s, except in some rural areas where temperatures are expected to drop to the high teens, providing little or no relief from the heat.
Environment Canada says a cool down is expected by Friday with the passage of a cold front.