Being Proactive: Climate, Health, Nurses, and Us

The amazing Beth Schenk at our meetup!

Late last August I eagerly packed my things while profusely sweating in the hot and humid climate of northern Indiana. I naively looked forward to the cooler, drier weather of my new home in Missoula where I would be attending graduate school. Instead I arrived to a hot, smoke filled valley. Looking out my window on one of my first morning I mistook the smoke for a beautiful morning fog.
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Since then I have heard many horror stories of the impacts of wildfire smoke on physical and mental health. I had a professor who skyped in from Seattle because she was so sick she couldn’t be in Missoula. A parent told me their child could not play outside for nearly two months. While a sort of post-traumatic stress may keep wildfire smoke at the forefront of Missoulian minds, this is just one example of how climate change and community health are related.

At Thursday night’s monthly meetup covering the topic of health and climate, participants helped generate a list of what we knew about the possible global health consequences of climate change. Here are some of the things we came up with:

• Heat related illness
• Food insecurity
• Outdoor occupational hazards
• Air quality related illnesses due to smoke and worsened smog (related to ozone)
• Changed disease vectors
• Disease and sanitation issues due to overcrowding
• Mental health consequences

A recurring theme throughout the night’s discussion centered on how we define vulnerable populations. In the context of climate and health, vulnerable populations have traditionally been defined as the young and elderly. Several participants called for outdoor workers to be included in this definition as they face numerous occupational hazards. Think local farmers and highway workers.

Let’s Be Proactive
Thankfully, as the meetup’s title “Healthy Community and Summer Smart” suggests, Thursday night’s discussion was not all doom and gloom. Nurse scientist, St. Patrick Hospital’s sustainability coordinator, and Climate Smart executive team member Beth Schenk spoke with us about some of the exciting efforts she, the hospital, and local health researchers are making to create a healthier community. Amy added to this proactive message by discussing some of Climate Smart’s “Summer Smart” work.

Nurses: The New Climate Messengers
Beth mentioned a few of the efforts she has been involved with both nationally and around Missoula:

• Nurses Climate Challenge: A project of Health Care without Harm and the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, the goal of the Nurses Climate Challenge is to, “mobilize nurses across the country to educate a total of 5,000 of their colleagues about the impacts of climate change on human health.” To find out more or sign up to get involved visit their website. 
• Nurses Climate Survey: Drawing on the long-term survey model of Yale’s Program on Climate Change and George Mason’s Center for Climate Change Communication (find more here), Dr. Schenk and colleagues have developed a similar survey to study the climate attitudes of nurses. Nurses are considered some of the most trusted voices in the United States and number over 4 million making them an important demographic. If you or someone you know is a nurse, the survey is ongoing and can be found  here. 
• Anesthesia and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: An expert in anesthesia and greenhouse gas reduction will soon be visiting St. Patrick Hospital to meet with doctors about best practices for patient care, cost reduction, and greenhouse gas emissions. The gases used for anesthesia can be far more harmful than carbon dioxide emissions and account for an estimated 5% of the carbon footprint of our healthcare system. Keep your eyes out for a possible article in the Missoula Current about this issue, but for now, find this statistic and more information here. at . For more information about actions taken by St. Patrick Hospital check out Beth’s recent contribution to the Sustainable Missoula column.
• Impacts of Long-Term, Chronic Smoke Exposure: Curtis Noonan, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Montana, received grant funding for new research into the long-term impacts of smoke exposure. We generally understand short-term impacts, but lack much needed science on long-term risks. 
• Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast: For this podcast Beth interviews fellow nursing and environmental health leaders about their inspirations and work. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts. Further description and a link to episodes can be found here. 

More local efforts
Check out our “Summer Smart” tab for information about some of our health and climate efforts. Here are a few highlights:

• HEPA Air Filters: Check out our educational materials and consider supporting our Summer 2018 efforts to distribute free filters to vulnerable populations. 
• Shade Shelters: In 2017 we built a shade shelter and have another in the works for this summer. 
• Tree Cover: Climate Smart partners with Trees for Missoula to advance our goals of increasing tree cover to act as a carbon sink and natural cooling mechanism. Consider volunteering this summer as they conduct an extensive and needed tree inventory. 

Since August I have come a long way from mistaking smoke for fog. As a new member of the Climate Smart team, I am excited to continue learning about the local effects of climate change and what we can do here in our own community. I found the proactive message of Thursday’s discussion an inspirational launch point as I dive into the world of climate change work this summer.

- Mattie Lehman, Intern and UM Brainerd Fellow

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