Bill Frist, M.D.

Extreme heat is not only about survival. It is also about whether daily life can safely continue.
 Can someone wait safely at a bus stop? Can an outdoor worker finish a shift? Does an older adult have somewhere cool to go? Can a first responder cool a patient in time?
 After touring ASU’s Heat Futures Lab, I spoke with Dr. Jennifer Vanos about her 2023 research with collaborators on heat survivability and livability.
 Watch this week’s Myth Diagnosis, then share one step your community could tak

Myth vs. truth on extreme heat: your body at 113° 🌡️ 
Myth: “Heat is just uncomfortable.” Truth: At 113 degrees, your body is fighting. Blood rushes to your skin. Your heart pumps faster. You sweat more. And if it can't keep up, your brain, heart, kidneys, and circulation all take the hit.
 That's why heat turns dangerous fast—especially for older adults, kids, outdoor workers, people with chronic conditions, and anyone without reliable AC.
 Diagnosis? Hot days are a health threat. Prescription?

Our pets cannot handle the heat the same way we do. Bonnie and Finn joined me for this week’s Myth Diagnosis on a danger many pet owners underestimate: pets can overheat quickly, pavement can burn their paws, and parked cars can become deadly. Keep them cool. Keep them hydrated. Keep them off hot pavement. Pets deserve the best. #PetSafety #HeatSafety #DogsofTikTok

When Mom and Dad go in different directions and you have to decide who needs supervising most. Our border collie, Bonnie, takes her job very seriously. #bordercollie #herdingdog #herdingdogsoftiktok #farmlife

“All nature is doing her best each moment to make us well. Do not resist her.” Henry David Thoreau wrote those words in 1853, but they feel especially relevant today. Time among trees can lower stress. Clean air and water protect our bodies. Healthy ecosystems sustain the food we eat and the communities we call home. Nature restores us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Thoreau put it simply: “Nature is but another name for health.” Nature is medicine. And caring for the natural world is

Meet our latest visitor at The Farm at Sinking Creek. This young American black bear was caught on our SGI trail cam moving through native grasses on land that was pasture not long ago. Today, it serves as part of an important wildlife corridor. Nature responds beautifully when we give it room to roam. #Bear #Wildlife #Nature #BlackBear #Farm

112°F outside. This Phoenix street reached 170°F. Just steps away, a reflective "cool pavement" coating lowered the surface temperature by about 10 degrees. Then we stepped beneath a tree: 115.7°F. I spent the day with David Hondula, Director of Phoenix's Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, seeing this work firsthand. In extreme heat, the way we design our communities matters. Cooler surfaces can help, but shade is transformative for our comfort, our infrastructure, and our health. Phoenix i

Al Gore asked me about climate and health. My answer started in the operating room. Genetics is only 30% of the story behind heart and lung disease. The other 70% starts long before anyone reaches the OR—food, soil, air, climate. 🫀 #Climate #PublicHealth #FYP

More than 40 years ago my mentor at Stanford told me words that inspired me to build a #1 transplant program 🫀 Dr. Norman Shumway performed the first heart transplant in America. In 1983, as my fellowship at Stanford under him ended, he told me: "Dream big. Master the heart." That advice became the blueprint for Vanderbilt Transplant Center. One unified program for every organ, built around patients and families. In 2025: 960 transplants. #1 in the nation. What advice do you carry with you? Let

Most people think hurricanes are only a coastal threat. Helene showed us otherwise. Myth: Only coastal communities need to worry about hurricanes. Diagnosis: Inland hurricane risk is real. Prescription: Know your flood zone. Follow alerts. Prepare before the storm is anywhere near you. Hurricane season is underway. Save this and share it with someone who lives inland. #FYP #Myth#PublicHealth #ExtremeWeather #HurricaneSeason