SALT LAKE CITY — Doctors at the University of Utah Health’s Burn Center are warning people to watch out for frostbite as we enter winter’s coldest months. They’re also calling Code Blue alerts a success.
Burn Center Director Dr. Giavonni Lewis said before Code Blue alerts began in 2023, they’d see around 30 patients for cold-related injuries like frostbite.
“We’ve seen at least a half in the number of admissions to our hospital for frostbite injuries [since then],” Lewis said.
Utah Office of Homeless Services Director Tricia Davis Winter said they’ve enacted 66 Code Blues since Oct. 15, helping unsheltered people experiencing homelessness find emergency shelters to get out of the cold.
Burn Center Community Outreach Coordinator Courtney Lawrence said they’ve been teaching outreach street teams how to recognize frostbite symptoms and give out clothes to help people warm up.
Even though the number of people the hospital treats for frostbite is …