MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Interview with Raul Ruiz

Interview

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Our next guest represents California`s Riverside County, which includes the desert communities of Palm Desert, Indio, and Coachella and has among the top ten highest rates of heat-related ER visits in California.

Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Raul Ruiz of California. He is the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He is also a physician and public health expert.

[22:49:53]

O`DONNELL: Congressman, thank you very much for joining us tonight. I want to get your perspective on the president finally taking heat into consideration as a public health issue and a workplace issue.

REP. RAUL RUIZ (D-CA): Well, it`s long overdue. As the son of farm workers who grew up in a farm worker trailer park I can tell you that these workers take a lot of risk working in 120 degree weather to feed Americans and taking the (INAUDIBLE) that we all rely to keep healthy.

And taking this first step in terms of starting the rule making process is very important. California has some rules, the Asuncion Bandilla (ph) legislation has a rule that would codify what California does. Let`s add cooling centers and limited exposure to extreme heat as a standard as well.

And I not only speak as the son of a farm worker but as an emergency physician who practiced in the desert taking care of people who come in with (INAUDIBLE), disorientation, dizziness, even vomiting from the extreme heat that they experienced.

O`DONNELL: On that point, as a physician what is your advice to people in workplaces where heat is an issue, your medical advice?

RUIZ: Well, my medical advice is limit your exposure as much as you can. Try to find shade. If you start to feel any symptoms at all like feeling dizzy, nausea or even heat rashes or even more severe symptoms like disorientation and mental status changes then seek cover. Go somewhere where you can find air conditioning even if you have to go to the nearest car and ask somebody to turn it on, turn on your air-conditioning.

And if you start to feel very symptomatic call 911 because these are very serious symptoms that can lead to death as we`ve seen in the past.

I mean farm workers are 20 times more likely to die from heat illness than other occupations. So those are my suggestions. And don`t take any risks.

O`DONNELL: Congressman Raul Ruiz, thank you very much for joining us tonight on this important story. We really appreciate it.

RUIZ: Thank you.

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