The National Center for the Equitable Care for Elders at Harvard University will host a webinar at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7 to share information about how to prepare for climate-related threats to the health and well-being of older adults.

The virtual training session, “Planning Ahead for Extreme Weather & Environmental Impacts on Aging,” is presented by Dr. Peter Maramaldi, a gerontologist, behavioral scientist, and Endowed Professor at Simmons University School of Social Work, Adjunct Professor at the HarvardChan School of Public Health, and Instructor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

“Anyone working with older people needs to be at least aware of the impact of weather, and at best prepared with responses to extreme or catastrophic environmental events – before they happen,” Maramaldi said. “This is an intergenerational issue because extreme environmental events affect older people's families and caregivers.”

The webinar was created to educate health care providers, staff members, trainers, health care administrators, non-profit organization, and public health workers – really anyone who works with older adults and their caregivers – on the dangers of climate change for older adults.

Aging adults are particularly vulnerable to climate change because their bodies are less able to cope with environmental hazards and extreme heat, and they are more likely to have limited mobility and compromised immune systems. Government climate change policies can help to protect older adults, Maramaldi said. That’s an important component for health, government, and community leaders to understand.

Maramaldi first became interested in the effects of climate change as a young community organizer is New York City.

“I was deeply impressed by the impact of weather on older people I served in Harlem and the Bronx in the 1970s and 1980s,” he said. “Old people talk about the weather for reasons that far exceed small talk – it's about survival. Today as a gerontologist, I see severe weather as a ubiquitous risk for community dwelling older populations.”

You can view the full webinar here: