Washington State Department of Health

• SEATTLE, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Washington Poison Center (WAPC) invites community service providers and healthcare professionals to attend the 4th annual Overdose Prevention, Harm Reduction, and Treatment Series .
• The Overdose Series explores unintentional and intentional factors that can lead to overdose, and equips attendees with tools to prevent overdose and reduce harm from drugs and medications.
• The Overdose Series will address these topics through two educational tracks: 1) Community Health and 2) Toxicology and Pharmacology.
• Sessions are presented by medical staff from the WAPC, as well as external experts from agencies including the University of Washington, Washington State Department of Health, Washington State Health Care Authority, Washington State University, Crisis Connections, local healthcare services, and harm reduction agencies.

• The heat dome that descended upon the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021 met a population radically unprepared for it.
• Extreme heat disasters like this are becoming increasingly common in regions where high heat used to be rare.
• The 2021 heat dome was Washington’s deadliest weather disaster on record.
• Many emerge from thinking about extreme heat as long-term risk reduction, not just short-term emergency response.

Designing environments for cooling

• For example, planting trees and building shade structures where people are most exposed to heat can provide local relief from extreme temperatures.
• That includes providing shade at buildings without air conditioning and exposed public spaces, such as bus stops and parks.

Reaching vulnerable people

• When heat waves are coming, culturally nuanced outreach efforts focused on the most vulnerable populations – and involving sources they trust – can save lives.
• Government heat advisories in traditional media like radio, newspapers, TV and the internet have been shown to have limited success in changing people’s behavior.
• The reasons varied, including misperception of personal risk, fear of leaving homes unoccupied, not wanting to leave pets behind and mistrust of government.

Landlords, employers and utilities have a role

• For example, landlords of multifamily housing and rental homes have an important role to play.
• After the 2021 heat wave, Oregon passed a law prohibiting landlords from restricting tenants’ ability to install window air conditioners.

Coordination is essential

• Between 1971 and 2021, Washington state experienced an average of three extreme heat days per year.
• In the end, saving lives from extreme heat is a complicated challenge requiring coordination across multiple levels of government, agencies and the civic and private sectors.
• Some cities, including Phoenix, are experimenting with heat offices tasked with this coordination.

• It asks the court to declare the State Department's acts unlawful and discriminatory and to award appropriate monetary damages for injuries suffered.
• Feds for Medical Freedom is suing the State Department for discriminating against unvaccinated employees.
• If successful, this lawsuit would be a landmark win in the effort to hold the government accountable for its discriminatory, unconstitutional, and anti-scientific COVID vaccine mandate.
• Our goals are to block the enforcement of this mandate, hold bad actors accountable and compensate those who have been injured by unlawful discrimination."

• With the launch of Coordinated Care Harvest Bucks in July of 2021, Coordinated Care became the first and only MCO to offer this type of benefit for its Medicaid members.
• Partnering with the Washington State Department of Health and Safeway grocery stores, Coordinated Care members can receive a voucher to buy fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables at any Safeway in Washington.
• This focus on consistent access to healthy foods is a critical component Coordinated Care believes in as they care for the whole person, complementing essential provider visits.
• Coordinated Care provides free and low-cost health insurance coverage to more than 280,000 Medicaid, foster care and marketplace members across Washington state, with more than 30,000 providers in-network.