Title
City of Phoenix 2024 Heat Response Plan
Description
This report presents to City Council the annual update to the City of Phoenix Heat Response Plan for Summer 2024. The Heat Response Plan details the programs and services that Phoenix delivers to residents and visitors to prevent illness, death, and other serious and immediate adverse health outcomes associated with indoor and outdoor heat exposure.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
Extreme Heat and Public Health
Summer heat is a serious public health challenge for residents of and visitors to the region. Heat-related deaths in Phoenix as reported by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health have risen substantially since 2014, to a new record high of 395 during 2023, the hottest summer in the city's history. Drugs and/or alcohol were contributing factors to 73 percent of the heat-related deaths in Phoenix last summer, and people experiencing homelessness accounted for 54 percent of all cases. Of the 73 heat-related deaths associated with an indoor place of injury in Phoenix last summer, air conditioning was not functioning, turned off, or not present in 90 percent of the cases.
The total public health burden of extreme heat in Phoenix also includes thousands of cases of heat-related illness that require medical treatment including ambulance dispatches, emergency room visits and overnight hospitalization. In 2023, the single day with the most medical calls to the Phoenix Fire Department was July 18. Total calls surged 34 percent higher than a typical day as high temperatures reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of what would become the hottest month on record for any major American city.
Beyond incidents that require emergency medical service, many residents experience physical and mental health challenges associated with prolonged or frequent heat exposure, disrupted sleep patterns, anxiety over high electricity bills, and other factors. These outcomes are not routinely or systematically tracked, but available evidence suggests that they impact a high percentage of the City’s and the region’s residents. For example, in a 2015 community assessment, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health found that nearly one-third of residents consider their homes to be “too hot” at some point in the summer.
Heat Response Planning Process
Planning for the 2024 heat season began in late summer 2023, with the formalization of an Executive Heat Response Leadership team. This team is comprised of senior staff from Emergency Management, Fire, Public Health, Homeless Solutions, and Heat Response and Mitigation. The Executive Heat Response Leadership team conducted a multi-pronged program evaluation to identify opportunities for improvement toward the goal of preventing heat-associated illness and deaths. The evaluation included an after-action analysis of the City’s summer 2023 efforts, a facilitated enterprise risk management workshop with departmental leadership, and review of program performance with each of the 15 individual departments that operate programs and services relevant to the heat response mission. This evaluation informed plans for summer 2024.
Summer 2023 Progress
Although public health data clearly indicates that existing programs and services are not fully meeting needs to protect all people from dangerous summer heat in Phoenix, the City’s increased effort and investment in heat response over the past several years have led to positive outcomes. Statistical models demonstrate that the number of heat-related deaths and emergency dispatches in Phoenix would have been expected to be even higher than the 2023 totals if there had been no change in community preparedness or response.
Heat Response program improvements in summer 2023 included:
Distribution of $384,000 in grant funding to 19 local non-profits and faith-based organizations that benefited nearly 29,000 residents.
Deployment of a City bus as a temporary cooling center in the vicinity of the Human Services Campus, which recorded 7,400 visits over a 47-day operating period.
Expansion of direct heat relief outreach efforts by City staff and volunteers, doubling engagements from the previous year to more than 8,300.
Activation of the Sunnyslope Family Services Center as a heat respite site for people experiencing homelessness in the Sunnyslope area, in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul.
2024 Heat Response Plan
The draft City of Phoenix Heat Response Plan for Summer 2024 is included as Attachment A. The document includes a thorough analysis of weather and health data from prior years, specification of goals and performance indicators, and descriptions of key networks and partnerships. The primary section of the plan describes 39 heat response actions for which the City holds a leadership role, organized into nine broad strategies:
Equip first responders for effective heat response;
Leverage data for informed action;
Provide publicly accessible cool space;
Increase access to drinking water;
Support cool and safe home environments;
Support cool and safe mobility and recreation;
Implement heat safety measures for workers;
Engage with the community to build heat readiness;
Collaboratively work across department and agency boundaries.
There are 12 new or significantly revised actions in the 2024 Heat Response Plan. These changes are proposed based on analysis of 2023 health impact data, stakeholder input, and new capacity to support the heat response mission from multiple departments and agencies. The significant revisions are as follows:
Adopt an Incident Management Team (IMT) framework for the entire heat season. The Office of Emergency Management is well suited to integrate a unified command approach covering all phases of the City’s Extreme Heat Response efforts. Implementation of an IMT will effectively provide a command-and-control element to systematically coordinate and manage the collective resources and personnel the City of Phoenix is committing to this effort.
Formalize a tiered heat response framework. The 2024 plan will delineate three tiers of response: (I) seasonal preparedness and programming, which operate May through September, (II) peak season programming, operating during the mid-June through mid-August time frame when most heat-related deaths and illnesses occur, and (III) short-term emergency adjustments as triggered by National Weather Service Excessive Heat Warnings.
Expand operating hours and services provided at City of Phoenix Heat Relief Network locations. Staff have developed plans to operate two overnight respite and navigation centers at Burton Barr Library and the Senior Opportunities West Senior Center from May 1 through Sept. 30 with professional case management services and dedicated security staff at each facility. Staff have also developed plans to extend the operating hours of three Cooling Centers during the heat season: Cholla Library, Yucca Library, and Harmon Library.
Integrate heat outreach programs into other City services. The executive committee has identified opportunities to improve service delivery by redirecting components of the heat relief outreach efforts into ongoing engagement and case management functions of the Office of Homeless Solutions.
Follow updated heat illness and injury prevention plans created for City departments with affected employees aligned with the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) State Emphasis Program on worker heat safety. The City of Phoenix Human Resources Safety Division has helped ensure each affected department has an updated written heat illness and injury prevention plan and will be collaborating with departments to support the implementation of those plans in 2024.
City staff are exploring opportunities to implement new requirements in City procurement processes and/or City contracts related to heat safety. These requirements would ensure that City-engaged businesses (contractors and sub-contractors) have relevant and effective heat safety plans in place.
Leverage the Phoenix Fire Department’s dispatch and patient care data resources in new ways to more effectively guide and evaluate heat response programs and services. New dashboards and reporting tools have been developed to support internal planning and response and to provide updates to City Council and the public.
Develop more specific strategies to reduce heat-related health risks among people who use substances, especially methamphetamines and opioids. Among the strategies anticipated to be implemented in 2024 are new training programs for City employees and partners engaged in heat relief that enable them to more effectively engage substance users, as well as heat safety and program training for local organizations who provide services to substance users.
Coordinate with recently added staff positions at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health and Arizona Department of Health Services to ensure that regional and statewide efforts align with City of Phoenix heat response efforts. This coordination further extends to ongoing and new efforts catalyzed by the Governor’s Extreme Heat emergency declaration in August 2023 and associated Executive Order.
Increase the modalities and reach of public messaging related to heat response to maximize community awareness of heat illness symptoms, available resources, and opportunities to participate in heat response initiatives.
Expand the hours of the closure policy for selected trails at mountain preserves on National Weather Service Excessive Heat Warning Days, as adopted by the Parks Board in 2023.
Operate the Safe Outdoor Space for people experiencing homelessness, including the provision of shaded outdoor space and cooled indoor space.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays, Deputy City Manager Gina Montes and the Fire, Emergency Management, Heat Response and Mitigation, Public Health, and Homeless Solutions offices.