926: Data to Reduce Heat Injuries, Public Health Rumors

SUMMER JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, June 12, 2025. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

JAMES MCDONALD: 

So, what we do with this heat dashboard is recognizing it's way more than just the temperature that influences whether people are having a heat injury.

JOHNSON: 

The summer is heating up, and so is the intensity from public health officials to protect people from heat-related injuries. ASTHO member, Dr. Jim McDonald, is commissioner of the New York State Department of Health. The department has a heat risk and illness dashboard to prevent bad outcomes by arming people with information.

MCDONALD: 

So, this is a partnership we do with the National Weather Service. And really what we did is just look at all these different variables and construct the heat risk for that day and really put it into one of five categories, whether it's no risk, all the way up to extreme risk. And then people can look at their own health situation and understand: what is my risk? The dashboard gives local leaders data. Any local leader can say, what do we need to do to prepare, open up a cooling center? What kind of information [do] we give the public?

JOHNSON: 

New York State's experts led a study on heat-related illness outlined in a recent CDC MMWR, which shows a link between high-risk forecasts and emergency room visits. Here's one real-life application using all that data for better outcomes.

MCDONALD: 

One of things we've done in New York State is use our Affordable Care Act insurance plans to cover air conditioning for people who qualify. You have asthma? We can help set you up with a portable air conditioner in your home window unit, and that is bringing air conditioning to people for the first time in their life, sometimes, and that might just bring them not just some cool air, but keep them out of the emergency department.

JOHNSON: 

Finally, McDonald says getting in front of the heat is the best way to help people during the summer.

MCDONALD: 

We use real-time data points. We'll tell you what today is, but we'll also tell you what the next seven days is. That's the whole point. If you can forecast the future, you can plan for the future. Website is health.ny.gov/heatdashboard.

JOHNSON: 

Easily get to the dashboard McDonald is talking about by heading to the show notes.

Also on deck today, Thursday, June 12, at 2 p.m. Eastern, ASTHO is hosting an INSPIRE: Readiness webinar on public health communication challenges. Dr. Tara Kirk Sell with Johns Hopkins will be one of the speakers leading that workshop, and says rumors and a lack of trust are two of the biggest challenges faced by public health practitioners today.

TARA KIRK SELL: 

I can talk all day about how things should work, but you know, really understanding how to implement or being inspired by the creativity of others to make it work, you know, in your own community is something that's really foundational to public health practice.

JOHNSON: 

Sell says every time you communicate with the public is an opportunity.

SELL: 

Every time the health department shows up at a community event, you know, when it coordinates its local partners, I mean, even when it helps you figure out, you know,how to keep your septic system from leaking into local waterways, these are moments where we're building trust.

JOHNSON: 

Sell also recommends working rumor management and trust-building into health departments' strategic plans.

SELL: 

And having plans to counter one set of preparedness rumors can help us combat other types of rumors that public health has to manage. So, whether it's like water contamination or substance abuse or food safety, you know, we can be prepared to manage rumors in those fields as well.

JOHNSON: 

Don't forget that workshop is today at 2 p.m. Eastern, and there's still time to sign up. Just use the link in the show notes to register.

In other news, a big state with a decentralized public health system is working to strengthen collaboration between public health and academic health departments. The Texas Department of State Health Services is leading the Academic Health Partnership Initiative to shape a more resilient and connected public health infrastructure in the state. You can read all about it in an article on ASTHO's website. There's a link right to it in the show notes.

Finally, this morning, ASTHO member, Dr. Ralph Alvarado, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, was a panelist at this past Monday's Age-Friendly Ecosystem Summit. Alvarado discussed effective public health communication and ensuring that messages resonate with decision-makers. He led the Tennessee Department of Health to prioritize healthy aging by establishing an Office of Healthy Aging. Head to the show notes to read more about that event, which was hosted by TFAH and the John A. Hartford Foundation.

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnson, you're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition, have a great day.