Contagious Conversations: Engaging Young People and Bolstering Community Readiness to Meet Climate and Health Challenges

From injuries caused by severe weather events to heat-related illnesses and deaths, the health impacts of climate change are already being felt. In the latest episode of the Contagious Conversations podcast, we explore with two young leaders in this area, Hazel Rogers and Ben Rabin, the importance of taking action on the health impacts of climate change.

Hazel is the assistant director of patient experience and cultural transformation at Mount Sinai Morningside hospital in New York City. There, she advocates for patients and employees on issues of health, equity and inclusion, and sees first-hand the impact of our changing climate on health through her work with local communities. Ben is a fifth-year medical student at Emory University in Atlanta who prioritized making the health risks and impacts of climate change a formal part of the Emory Medical School curriculum.

In this interview, Hazel and Ben detail how health and climate change overlap in their fields, and what inspires them as young people entering their careers to take action in their communities to tackle the health impacts of climate change. It was encouraging to hear their enthusiasm and dedication to this effort.

The CDC Foundation is focused on bringing together young people to raise awareness about the linkage between climate and health, and to engage them in their communities to better prepare for the growing health impacts from climate change. 

I encourage everyone to listen to this episode and learn more about how we can all work together to tackle this public health crisis.