Last night at Kern Medical Center's emergency room, patients waited a long time for medical attention.
"I've been here since 10:45, and it's, I don't know, 8:45 almost 9 o'clock now," said Kip Amstutz, who was there last night.
This afternoon, there were fewer patients and shorter waits, but they sure felt long to some people.
"But its almost 2:30 and I'm still here," said Lisa Cowans, who had a migraine she thinks is related to the heat. "I still haven't been seen by a doctor or a physician or anything."
Long waits could become more prevalent this summer as blazing temperatures scorch the Golden Empire and doctors know it could get worse.
"As temperatures get warmer, then the trauma census increases significantly, and this weekend we had a significant amount of trauma," said Dr. Rick McPheeters of Kern Medical Center.
Last night, Kern Medical Center was forced to stop admitting ER patients because they didn't have enough beds.
"After about 8 hours of waiting here, they started telling people it was going to be tomorrow between 7 and 9 o'clock before they would see us," Amstutz said Monday night.
Tuesday, things appeared to be back to normal. According to Dr. McPheeters, "normal" at KMC means around a six hour wait. There were fewer people waiting for care Tuesday, but the heat appears to be the biggest reason for an increase in patients.
"It was too hot for me. I was walking, and I guess something happened because my headache hasn't went away yet," said Cowans.
