Hypothermia

Excerpt

Until recently, the United States has enjoyed relatively mild weather with ample supplies of low-cost energy. The past two winters have shown that great numbers of our population are at risk for prolonged bouts of cold exposure. Many elderly persons, with small incomes, are subsisting on marginal nutrition and have homes that are heated as minimally as they can tolerate. Blizzard conditions, with interruption of gas, oil, or electrical power, subject many persons to environmental assaults they can not resist. The failure in the face of such conditions to maintain a body temperature adequate for optimal physiologic functioning has been