Summit County to host Sept. 19 public-health speaker on climate-related physical and mental health

The Summit County Health Department asked the County Council on Tuesday to promote a public-health speaker series event on Sept. 19 that will focus on climate-change impacts to physical and mental health.

Public Health Director Phil Bongarat told the council that the county has integrated sustainability into public-health planning and described climate change as "the number 1 risk to public health for the next 25 years." Emily Quitt, the county's sustainability and climate staff lead, said the Sept. 19 program will run 6–7:30 p.m. at the National Ability Center and that registration is free via Eventbrite; staff will also include tabling and accept audience questions via Slido.

The series follows a May event that examined environmental-health risks identified in a county climate-risk assessment prepared by the Woodwell Climate Research Center, Quitt said. That earlier session drew about 55 attendees and featured hydrologists, ecologists and climate-risk researchers.

Quitt said staff are exploring ways to broaden access: recording or streaming the session and possibly sharing content via podcast to reach residents who cannot attend in person. Council members asked about Zoom access and recordings and recommended tailoring future sessions to schools and other target audiences.

Councilors and department staff framed the initiative as part of ongoing efforts to connect environmental changes—longer fire seasons, degraded air quality and more frequent heat waves—to downstream public-health outcomes, including respiratory illness and mental-health stressors. Staff said audience questions they cannot address live will be answered later on KPCW's "This Green Earth."