LeadingAge to White House: Prioritize Older Adults in Extreme Heat Response

Following its July 2024 extreme weather briefing and mid-September White House summit, the Biden Administration last month announced an extreme heat call to action that included a draft Extreme Heat Community Checklist to help municipalities, towns, and tribal organizations prepare for and respond to extreme heat events.

Though it fell short of thought provoking questions that could sway a local government to consider significant investment in making communities more resilient to extreme heat like grants for energy assistance or building retrofit projects, the checklist, released as a draft document, does provide communities with a starting point for engaging with the public about the risks of extreme heat. LeadingAge responded to the checklist's 30-day public comment period on October 15, 2024.

In our comments, LeadingAge underscores the need to consider and consult older adults, and the providers who serve them, as "key partners" in driving community safety and resilience, including related to extreme heat, and urges the administration to take better account of older adults' needs and their vulnerabilities to heat. We advocate for partnerships between communities and the providers serving older adults and more thoughtful inclusion of older adults and their unique needs and abilities. Our comments also suggest broader communications techniques than internet and social media content while prioritizing support that meets older adults where they live.

Read LeadingAge's comments here.