Doctor, It’s The Climate

Climate change is heating things up – and we’re really feeling the effects on our bodies. But it’s not just the ferocious, more frequent heat waves that are affecting our health. It’s also ticks and mosquitoes spreading more disease, skies filling with smoky air from wildfires, drinking water becoming scarcer. In this episode, we asked two medical doctors – Dr. Elizabeth Cerceo and Dr. Celine Gounder – how can we keep our families safe from the growing health risks of climate change?  Dr. Elizabeth Cerceo is a professor of medicine and executive director of climate health at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, associate program director of the internal medicine residency, and chair of physician engagement at Cooper University Health Care. She completed her medical degree at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania along with a Diploma in Climate Medicine (DCM) from the University of Colorado. As the executive director of climate health, she is responsible for integrating climate health content throughout the four years of medical school, into residency and faculty development.  Dr. Cerceo is active in the American College of Physicians, Medical Society of New Jersey, Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, Clinicians for Climate Action New Jersey, American Public Health Association, and is on the board of directors of the Climate Health Society. Dr. Celine Gounder is a CBS news medical correspondent and the editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News. Prior to that she was a CNN medical analyst and a frequent expert guest on numerous TV news programs. She's written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and more. Dr. Gounder is also a clinical associate professor of medicine and infectious diseases at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. She cares for patients on the wards at Bellevue Hospital Center. She received her BA in molecular biology from Princeton University, her master of science in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and her MD from the University of Washington. Dr. Gounder was an intern and resident in internal medicine at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital, and a post-doctoral fellow in infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University. She was elected a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2016. In 2017, People Magazine named her one of “25 Women Changing the World.” In 2021, InStyle magazine named her one of “50 Women Making the World a Better Place.” In 2023, she was named one of “New York City & State’s Health Care Power 100,” a New York State “Woman of Distinction,” and a National Academy of Medicine “Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine.” In 2023, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, received the Research!America Meeting the Moment for Public Health Award, and joined the Council on Foreign Relations. She and her podcast production team won the 2023 Edward R. Murrow Award for American Diagnosis (S4E5 “Power to Police Perpetrators”). In 2024, she joined the board of Research!America and became an advisor to the Coalition for Trust in Health and Science. ------ For more info, go to C-Change Conversations Email us ------- Simmer Down is hosted by Kathleen Biggins. It is produced by Hans Buetow and Rebecca Fishkin.  Creative director: Carrie Dyckman Associate producer: Nicole Curnan Logo design: Sherri Locker Music: Andrew Atkin at Charts & Leisure Footage of hiker: ABC15 Arizona —--- For more information on this topic:  CDC BRACE Wheel The Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework is a five-step process that allows health officials to develop strategies and programs to help communities prepare for the health effects of climate change. Heat ExtremeHeat_ActionPlanTipSheet_Final.pdf  A worksheet to guide preparation for extreme heat. Cooling Centers by State | NCHH  A list of cooling centers for safety during extreme heat events. Air quality AirNow Mobile App | AirNow.gov  An app for checking real-time and forecast air quality. EnviroFlash A free email and cell phone notification service that gives your patients up-to-date, local air quality information. Patient Education Tools for Particle Pollution | US EPA A list of publications on air quality. Ticks and mosquitoes What are ticks and what diseases do they spread? Preventing mosquito bites