Heat was a risk for our patients.

Crystal Decuir, Chief Nursing Officer, SWLA Center for Health Services, explains that “in Louisiana in June of 2023, between May to August, for about ten days out of each month, we had temperatures record high of greater than 100 degrees. During that time, several patients came to the clinic with heat-related illnesses.”

On one particular day, we had four patients who we had to actually send to the hospital. That’s when we realized and said, “Oh my goodness, this is truly an issue. It wasn’t the normal typical southern heat.”

Decuir continues to say that there’s a reason to be hopeful.

“The Americares, Heat Equity Program, is aligned directly with our mission and vision for the organization. Currently, we look at health equity from various areas. We look at maternal health equity. We look at health disparities in equity as far as hypertension and diabetes for the patient populations that we serve. So just having the environmental component of it, we just thought that it was the right thing to do because it’s another way of leveling the platform for our patients.”

Together, SWLA Center for Health Services and Americares are adopting new ways of caring for patients as the environmental elements around us shift.