For many state health departments where heat descends upon its markets only in the summer months, educating the public on heat-related emergencies and risk factors requires highly orchestrated public education campaigns that county health departments customize for their own community needs.
When Chicago's summer of '95 led to a sweltering death toll of 703 fatalities, a heatwave of public concern swept the country as people wanted to know what states were doing to beat the heat. Now, Illinois and particularly Chicago's heat emergency programs are being studied by other states that want to prevent similar summer slaughters.
Seen as among the most aggressive heat-related emergency programs, the mayor's office in Chicago fires off consistent public health messages about the city's cool havens and explicit instructions on what to do in extreme heat.
Urging the media to provide regular coverage of its "Extreme Weather Plan," the mayor's office makes available a comprehensive list of industry resources for quick quotes and insight that includes the National Weather Service, experts in aging, medicine and other relevant fields. Its operations plans call for the Chicago fire commissioner to kick in with emergency back-up from a number of city departments once a "Heat Watch" or "Heat Warning" is declared.
The heat rescue plan features 24-hour cooling stations throughout the city, transportation offered by outreach staff (especially accessible to the elderly and at-risk citizens), nursing home monitoring by the department of health, and police officers checking on at-risk citizens within their beats.
"Our programs are extremely comprehensive. Other states use us as a case study on what to do in extreme heat situations, requesting our publications, and the studies that were conducted in '95 for perspective on what happened back then," said Tom Schafer, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Although Illinois' heat campaigns are among the most aggressive in the country, the public affairs budget is nominal.
Public Health Messages Heat up in New York
For New York state's health department (among the biggest in the country with 4,000 employees), its heat initiatives employ "fill in the blank" direct mail programs to 52 health departments throughout the state that cost about $6,000 annually.
Working in tandem with the state office for aging, the health commissioner and the state emergency management office, county health departments are first armed with spring heat packets in February, followed by summer heat packets in May, according to Kristine Smith, spokesperson for the State of New York Health Department.
The New York City Department of Health customizes this information and provides its own system of advisories via mayoral press conferences throughout the summer. Recently, the mayor held a press conference that plugged the hotline for the elderly, and used a Skin Cancer Foundation spokesperson to stress the importance of sun block products.
Although they haven't experienced anything close to Chicago's death toll, having a Chicago veteran to recently join its ranks was a definite plus according to Fred Winters, associate commissioner for the city health department.
Summer Sun Triggers Aggressive Statewide Monitoring Efforts
"Everybody learned a terrible lesson in Chicago," said Barbara Smith, public information officer for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MDHMH). "Rescuing your state's elderly and at-risk from the extreme heat became a national mandate."
Since 1995, Maryland has punched up its yearly heat advisory routine with public health messages disseminated to the media and 23 statewide public health officers to encourage people to go to cool places (malls, grocery stores, and libraries).
Working with the Maryland Emergency Management Association (MEMA) and keeping in close contact with each of the 24 counties' hospitals, MDHMH closely monitors heat-related illness and death counts (which have been conservative). Definitions of heat stroke and heat exhaustion were recently spelled out and accompanied by an extensive list of summertime precautions, in a "Ready or Not, It is Hot" press release.
Similar press releases, as well as summer information packets, will be distributed throughout the summer to keep people informed of summer sun safety. Maryland's public education efforts are also minimally funded by a community and public health administration budget.
(Chicago Mayor's Press Office, 312/744-3334; MDHMH, 410/767-6490; State of New York Health Dept., 518/473-7071)
Hot Tips For Summer Safety Public Health Messages
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