Stress Hydration—and Urgent Care Services—This Summer

We see lots of public service announcements and signs every summer warning against the dangers of locking pets in hot cars. Less publicized are the everyday dangers of people sweating profusely in extreme heat without drinking enough water. Providence Urgent Care noted that with an advisory to residents around its locations, and garnered media attention in the Spokane, WA area in the process. Revealing that they see patients with symptoms of dehydration much more frequently in the summer months, Providence accomplished a twofold objective: communicating a clear, important message to help the public stay safe, and publicizing the fact that its clinicians are both competent and concerned. Finally, Providence tried to educate patients that feelings of weakness, headache, and the abnormal absence of sweating could be signs of imminent danger, to be addressed by getting into a cooler (or at least shady) space and drinking water. It concluded with a description of the services it can provide—as well as a reminder that those services can most often be provided faster and less expensively than the emergency room could.