Up to 70,000 visitors from across the country and around the world will converge on the Tampa Bay area Monday for the Republican National Convention. The Florida Department of Health has some advice for visitors who have never experienced the Sunshine State's dog days of summer, when heat and sun can be overwhelming: Drink plenty of water.
According to researchers at the University of Texas, heat kills more people annually in the United States than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined. People over age 60, like many conventioneers, are most vulnerable.
The DOH and Bay area county health departments will assign more than 100 people to the convention to help with medical needs and logistics. Health officials have devised contingency plans to respond to Tropical Storm Isaac and are distributing information on heat and mosquito-borne illness.
“(We) have worked diligently to prepare and ensure the necessary medical resources and personnel are in place to serve the needs of those living (in) and visiting the Tampa area,” Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong said.
Earlier this year, public health officials in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties realized heat could be a major problem for people from cooler climates such as New England, the upper Midwest and northern Europe.
Steve Huard, of the Hillsborough County Health Department, said when that 50 people were hospitalized in March after a daytime concert in Clearwater, officials planned a public information campaign for conventioneers who may have never visited semi-tropical South Florida.
“That concert was like, wow,” Huard said Friday. “When we saw how many Floridians in the middle of winter were transported to hospitals we knew we needed to take the time to inform people about the Florida heat.”
Tampa’s normal high temperature for August is 90.5 degrees and health officials say everyone is at risk when temperatures rise above 90 degrees. Heat stress, exhaustion and stroke are illnesses that occur when the body is unable to cool itself. Symptoms include nausea, dizziness, heavy sweating and headaches. In July, at least 30 deaths were blamed on a heat wave that spread from Chicago to Baltimore.
Health officials have erected four water stations with shaded misting systems in the downtown area leading to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where the convention will be held. A medical aid station is located near the Free Speech Zone and a Parade Zone about three blocks from the Forum. There, people overcome from the heat can be rehydrated in a dark, air-conditioned room. Huard said the stations, misting systems and posters are strategically located within a 1-square mile area of downtown Tampa.
“There’s going to be some media guy, say from Germany, carrying 30 pounds of camera equipment around downtown,” Huard said, outlining the thinking behind the campaign. “That guy is ill-equipped for what he is going to experience.”
Physiologists describe the human body as a water-cooled machine. To remind people to drink more water and stay in the shade, Huard has plastered the message, “If you are thirsty then you are already dehydrated,” on fliers, hand fans, posters, bus ads and in radio commercials.
According to DOH, more than 3,000 people are seen in Florida emergency rooms each year for heat-related illnesses.
“Our goal is to keep heat-related illness from filling up our hospitals,” Huard said.
According to researchers at the University of Texas, heat kills more people annually in the United States than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined. People over age 60, like many conventioneers, are most vulnerable.
The DOH and Bay area county health departments will assign more than 100 people to the convention to help with medical needs and logistics. Health officials have devised contingency plans to respond to Tropical Storm Isaac and are distributing information on heat and mosquito-borne illness.
“(We) have worked diligently to prepare and ensure the necessary medical resources and personnel are in place to serve the needs of those living (in) and visiting the Tampa area,” Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong said.
Earlier this year, public health officials in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties realized heat could be a major problem for people from cooler climates such as New England, the upper Midwest and northern Europe.
Steve Huard, of the Hillsborough County Health Department, said when that 50 people were hospitalized in March after a daytime concert in Clearwater, officials planned a public information campaign for conventioneers who may have never visited semi-tropical South Florida.
“That concert was like, wow,” Huard said Friday. “When we saw how many Floridians in the middle of winter were transported to hospitals we knew we needed to take the time to inform people about the Florida heat.”
Tampa’s normal high temperature for August is 90.5 degrees and health officials say everyone is at risk when temperatures rise above 90 degrees. Heat stress, exhaustion and stroke are illnesses that occur when the body is unable to cool itself. Symptoms include nausea, dizziness, heavy sweating and headaches. In July, at least 30 deaths were blamed on a heat wave that spread from Chicago to Baltimore.
Health officials have erected four water stations with shaded misting systems in the downtown area leading to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where the convention will be held. A medical aid station is located near the Free Speech Zone and a Parade Zone about three blocks from the Forum. There, people overcome from the heat can be rehydrated in a dark, air-conditioned room. Huard said the stations, misting systems and posters are strategically located within a 1-square mile area of downtown Tampa.
“There’s going to be some media guy, say from Germany, carrying 30 pounds of camera equipment around downtown,” Huard said, outlining the thinking behind the campaign. “That guy is ill-equipped for what he is going to experience.”
Physiologists describe the human body as a water-cooled machine. To remind people to drink more water and stay in the shade, Huard has plastered the message, “If you are thirsty then you are already dehydrated,” on fliers, hand fans, posters, bus ads and in radio commercials.
According to DOH, more than 3,000 people are seen in Florida emergency rooms each year for heat-related illnesses.
“Our goal is to keep heat-related illness from filling up our hospitals,” Huard said.
Related Research: Fliers and handouts from the City of Tampa and Florida Department of Health
* Event Zone Guide During the 2012 RNC
* Beat The Heat - facts
* Beat The Heat - wallet flyer
* Beat The Heat - bus poster
Reporter James Call can be reached at [email protected] * Event Zone Guide During the 2012 RNC
* Beat The Heat - facts
* Beat The Heat - wallet flyer
* Beat The Heat - bus poster