On the heels of the City of San Antonio’s Beat the Heat campaign, Centro San Antonio on Friday opened a hydration station, providing intravenous hydration for its ambassadors who work for hours under the sun downtown.
The hydration station will be open every Friday through the month of August from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., inside the Dewy Skin Studio on Houston Street.
Anyone who visits the hydration station can get water bottles at no cost and powder electrolyte supplements for $2.50. IV hydration services will be provided to Centro ambassadors for free, and will also be offered to the general public at a discounted rate of $65 for a basic IV hydration, or $125 for IV with vitamins and minerals.
The effort comes as temperatures in San Antonio continue to challenge heat records for the second summer in a row: Two extreme heat waves have hit San Antonio already this year.
“The Centro ambassadors do an amazing job every single day keeping downtown clean and safe, but they work brutal temperatures day in and day out,” said Trish DeBerry, CEO of Centro.
According to Centro San Antonio’s upcoming shade study, downtown San Antonio is a “heat island,” with areas in downtown radiating up to 20 degrees more heat than in other, greener parts of the city.
The study will publish sometime in September or October, after it’s presented to the Public Improvement District Committee and Centro’s board of directors, and will add data to the organization’s effort to achieve at least 75% shade coverage in downtown by 2030.
Locally, the San Antonio Fire Department has received 343 heat-related calls for assistance since June 1, up 14% from the 301 calls it saw over the same period last year.
Centro SA has 118 ambassadors, and at least 40 of them work outside every day, removing graffiti across downtown, picking up trash, tending to the landscape and engaging with people experiencing homelessness.
Ethan Wenzel, team coordinator of the downtown maintenance operations, said he checks in with his team face-to-face to evaluate their health two times a day. The embassadors are also encouraged to take a five-minute break every 45 minutes and to try to work in shaded areas. Ice and water is handed out throughout the day.
Each ambassador walks about six to 12 miles a day across five zones downtown, not including the San Antonio River Walk, which is its own zone.
“Whether it’s drinking water, whether it’s putting supplements in your water, or the opportunity for IV hydration which works a lot quicker, we don’t want the ambassadors to get to the point where they’re getting dizzy, they feel sick to their stomach or they don’t know what to do,” DeBerry said.
The hydration station is provided through a partnership with SweatEquity, a local sauna studio that offers vitamin and amino acid IV drips and injectables.
On Friday, one nurse from SweatEquity administered drips to three people at a time. According to DeBerry, 20 Centro ambassadors were already on a sign-up list and some waited in line to receive an IV drip that afternoon.
While one ambassador sat in the chair, he turned to the nurse and said, “I feel hydrated!” Behind him on a small table, six IV bags were waiting for the next people in line.
Before the grand opening, Centro hosted an education session to teach its employees about the importance of staying hydrated.
Heather ONeill, owner of SweatEquity, said the IV drips administered to Centro ambassadors are full of electrolytes, vitamin B12 and vitamin C, and are the best option for quick hydration, compared to water.
“Once our electrolyte balance is thrown off, then we are in danger of dehydration. You pair that with extreme heat we’re in right now, that can be a recipe for disaster,” she said. “Just the fluid itself is full of electrolytes. It has magnesium and potassium already in the bag.”
“It’s pretty mind-blowing how many people actually forget to drink water,” ONeill said, adding water alone won’t address the dehydration, and can “run through you.”
The city is advising for people to keep cool this summer by taking cool showers or spraying water to mist the body when needed; and wearing light and loose-fitting clothing is recommended. People should also stay hydrated and avoid alcohol and large amounts of caffeine. The campaign also encourages people to be prepared and stay informed about heat advisories and alerts.
“Hydration becomes that much more important when you have that element associated with the heat dome that is over San Antonio and the rest of the country right now,” DeBerry said.
The hydration station for all 118 ambassadors is funded by a budget of $5,000 from the PID, and Centro is soliciting sponsors to reimburse the project costs.
As ambassadors walked away, they gave thumbs up and said they felt good.
“As a result of the awareness we’re doing for the ambassadors, there may be construction workers, city workers, that take advantage of this as well,” DeBerry said. “The more we can all work together, the bigger impact we can have.”
