Researchers call for investing in hospital nursing workforce to address health impacts of extreme heat
· Medical Xpressby University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
edited by Robert Egan
Robert Egan
Senior Editor
Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process
Editors' notes
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
fact-checked
trusted source
proofread
The GIST Add as preferred source
Hospitals should make nurse staffing and supportive nurse work environments a core part of extreme heat emergency preparedness, according to a new editorial from Penn Nursing's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR), as record-breaking temperatures and heat-related emergency department visits continue to rise across the United States. The editorial appears in Public Health Nursing.
Senior author Eileen T. Lake, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, the Edith Clemmer Steinbright professor in gerontology, professor of nursing and sociology, and CHOPR associate director, and co-authors Domenique Villani, MPH, RN, a CHOPR T32 predoctoral fellow, and Ysabella Perez, B.A., a recent Penn graduate and CHOPR research assistant, argue that building health system climate resilience requires ensuring bedside nurses have the organizational capacity and resources needed to deliver timely care and continuous surveillance during heat events.
This research builds on CHOPR research that establishes the link between nurse staffing and the work environment and myriad patient outcomes, including mortality.
The authors emphasize that heat-related illness management requires immediate, resource-intensive nursing surveillance to prevent complications including multiorgan failure and rapid patient deterioration. Insufficient staffing and inadequate support can severely limit a health system's ability to deliver standard-of-care treatments during sudden volume surges caused by heat waves.
To prepare for increasing environmental public health emergencies, the editorial outlines actionable recommendations across research, education, practice and policy, urging health system leaders to incorporate nurse staffing and workplace environment investments directly into disaster preparedness planning.
"Extreme heat is no longer just a public health issue—it is an immediate hospital preparedness priority that requires treating nurse staffing and supportive work environments as essential emergency infrastructure," the authors emphasize.
More information
Domenique Villani et al, How Nursing Can Strengthen Hospital Preparedness for Extreme Heat, Public Health Nursing (2026). DOI: 10.1111/phn.70184
Key medical concepts
Clinical categories
Allied healthHospital medicineCommon illnesses & Prevention Provided by University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Who's behind this story?
Robert Egan
Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →
Citation: Researchers call for investing in hospital nursing workforce to address health impacts of extreme heat (2026, October 5) retrieved 5 October 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-investing-hospital-nursing-workforce-health.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.