DPH’s Office of Climate and Health rolls out extreme-heat training module and local preparedness toolkit

The Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Office of Climate and Health on the meeting presented an "extreme heat" training module intended for local health departments and an accompanying adaptable preparedness toolkit that state staff said will be available online and via CT Train and may be offered as a webinar.

The module, presented by Madhumita (Madhu), a health program assistant with the Office of Climate and Health at DPH, frames extreme heat as a growing public-health threat, provides definitions (heat index, urban heat island, heat wave), summarizes health impacts and vulnerable populations, and lists short- and long-term adaptation strategies. “This module aims to support local health departments in understanding extreme heat risks, identifying vulnerable populations, implementing adaptation strategies, and strengthening resilience,” Madhu said during the walkthrough.

DPH staff said the toolkit is part of BRACE grant work and that the web-hosted template is a downloadable Word document municipalities can adapt. Jen…