Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has told paramedics to bypass their emergency department and canceled surgeries for the day after an earlier air conditioning outage amid high heat and humidity.

A spokesperson said a chilled water line in the hospital's main tower building, at 1620 W. Harrison St. in the Illinois Medical District on the city's Near West Side, went down for a time Monday morning. As a result, the HVAC system and critical equipment did not receive cooling.

"They said the air conditioners were off, so it's hot in the waiting room," said Viverette. 

The water line problem was repaired, and the HVAC system was back online by 11 a.m., but cooling was delayed to the building until late in the afternoon. 

As a result, Rush told ambulances to bypass their emergency department and take patients to other hospitals. The hospital also canceled many surgeries Monday.

 "It would be best to just reschedule, because it is kind of hot," Moore said. 

Rush said by 3 p.m., cool air had been circulating through its main tower building and temperatures inside were continuing to drop. The emergency department was taken off bypass, except for stroke and heart attack patients.

By 10 p.m., the emergency department was back to functioning normally.

Initial reports showed temperatures reached the 80s inside the tower building, and have dropped to the 70s. But the hospital said a building as big as the Rush tower takes a long time to cool down.

The spokesperson said the hospital expected conditions in the tower to be uncomfortable until the cooling system can fully recover. Mobile cooling units brought in for some relief.

The Chicago area is experiencing dangerous heat and humidity at the start of this week, with the heat index making it feel like it's well over 100 degrees.

"You know they say if the heat don't kill you, the humidity will," said Zeke Negrete, who brought his mother to an appointment Monday. "Very humid." 

Relief is not expected to come until mid-week.

• Health
• Chicago
• Heat