Public Health divides heat-related deaths into two categories: Heat-contributed deaths are deaths in which the heat was contributed but was not the sequence of events causing the deaths. According to MCDPH, two-thirds of heat-related deaths also included the use of a substance such as drugs or alcohol —53% of those deaths involved incidents where only drugs were used. Methamphetamine was the most common drug used — 78% — and fentanyl was involved in 46% of deaths involving drugs.
Maricopa County hired a Heat Relief Program Coordinator, whose job will be to coordinate resources and address heat relief gaps found in the report. In addition to the new coordinator, the county has announced plans to increase the number of heat relief locations and expand their hours of operation. They will also provide staff at heat relief centers with naloxone and training.