Excessive Heat Safety

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 27, 2023 – Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings now affect parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, as well as parts of New Mexico and Arizona to the west, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Tennessee is expected to reach mid to high 90’s by week’s end with heat indexes over 100 degrees forecasted.  

The American Red Cross of Tennessee Region warns that excessive heat has caused more deaths than all other weather events, including floods in recent years. A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessive heat, generally 10 degrees or more above average, often combined with excessive humidity. 

 

Tennesseans should be aware of weather terms when a heat wave is predicted in your community: 

Excessive Heat Watch - Conditions are favorable for an excessive heat event to meet or exceed 

local Excessive Heat Warning criteria in the next 24 to 72 hours. 

Heat Advisory - Heat Index values are forecasted to meet locally defined advisory criteria for 1 

to 2 days (daytime highs= 100-105° Fahrenheit). 

Excessive Heat Warning - Heat Index values are forecasted to meet or exceed locally defined 

warning criteria for at least 2 days (daytime highs= 105-110° Fahrenheit). 

 

What to do during a heatwave warning: 

• Listen to local weather forecasts and stay aware of upcoming temperature changes. 

• Be aware of both the temperature and the heat index. The heat index is the temperature the 

body feels when the effects of heat and humidity are combined. 

• Discuss heat safety precautions with members of your household. Have a plan for wherever 

you spend time— home, work, and school—and prepare for power outages. 

• Check the contents of your emergency disaster kit in case a power outage occurs. 

• Know those in your neighborhood who are elderly, young, sick, or overweight. They are more 

likely to become victims of excessive heat and may need help. 

• If you do not have air conditioning, choose places you could go to for relief from the heat 

during the warmest part of the day (schools, libraries, theaters, malls). 

• Be aware that people living in urban areas may be at greater risk from the effects of a 

prolonged heat wave than are people living in rural areas. 

• Get trained in First Aid at your local Red Cross chapter to learn how to treat heat-related emergencies. 

• Ensure that your animals' needs for water and shade are met. 

• Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio for critical updates from the National Weather Service 

(NWS). 

• Never leave children or pets alone in enclosed vehicles. 

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids even if you do not feel thirsty. Avoid drinking caffeine or alcohol. 

• Eat small meals and eat more often. 

• Avoid extreme temperature changes. 

• Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors because they absorb 

the sun’s rays.  

• Slow down, stay indoors and avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day.  

• Postpone outdoor games and activities.  
• Use a buddy system when working in excessive heat.  

• Take frequent breaks if you must work outdoors.  

• Check on family, friends and neighbors who do not have air conditioning, who spend much of their time alone or who are more likely to be affected by the heat.  

• Check on your animals frequently to ensure that they are not suffering from the heat.  

 

Download the free Red Cross Emergency App, which features expert advice on how to prepare, respond and recover from hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other disasters and features real-time local alerts for severe weather and hazards, including a map with local Red Cross shelters. Search “Red Cross Emergency” in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. 

 

If you would like more health and safety tips this summer go to the American Red Cross of the Tennessee Region website at RedCross.org/Tennessee. You can find a handy checklist for beating the summertime heat online.  

  

About the American Red Cross: 

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members, and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/Tennessee  or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossTN. The American Red Cross Tennessee Region serves all 95 counties in Tennessee, Crittenden County in Arkansas and Desoto and Tunica counties in Mississippi. The Tennessee Region – part of a nationwide network of locally supported chapters - is comprised of the following eight Red Cross chapters: East Tennessee, Heart of Tennessee, Mid-South, Mid-West Tennessee, Nashville Area, Southeast Tennessee, Northeast Tennessee and Tennessee River. 

Generations of American Red Cross Volunteering Make Huge Impact in the Maryville Community

John Kurimski

MARYVILLE, Tenn., June 21, 2023 - Through his support and dedication as an American Red Cross board member and volunteer, John Kurimski helps families in the community and across the nation. 

Kurimski’s family has a deep history with the American Red Cross for more than 80 years ago when his grandfather, John Castle, fought in World War II. Upon his grandfather’s return, he shared the impact that the Red Cross made in supporting the troops and their families. 

“If there was ever an organization to support, give to the American Red Cross,” John Castle said to his family as he himself went on to volunteer for Red Cross. That statement has made an impression on Kurimski and is exactly what he has set out to do.

Kurimski joined the American Red Cross organization in 2017 as a board member where he currently serves as the Board Chairman at the East Tennessee Chapter. As a board member, he supports the mission and volunteers.

As an active volunteer, Kurimski has participated in the local Fire Safety House, and Sound the Alarm events and hopes to have the opportunity to participate in a disaster relief deployment. In talking about his volunteer experiences, Kurimski shared that Sound the Alarm was pivotal for him. “Seeing the families with no smoke alarms and no protection to alert them was impactful,” he stated. “We were able to provide free smoke alarms and educate them on an escape plan.”

Not only does Kurimski support the American Red Cross, but his employer of the past 11 years, Brookfield Renewable, has been a Red Cross partner for several years through sponsorship of the local Sound the Alarm event.

This year’s local Sound the Alarm took place in Maryville where 82 alarms were installed by volunteers in homes and 79 people were educated on fire safety and fire escape plans in the event of an emergency.

To learn more about how you can get involved like John Kurimski and Brookfield Renewable through donations, partnerships, or volunteering, please visit redcross.org/tennessee or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Charley’s Story – Sarah Chance

Charley

By Sarah Chance

In August of 2021, at six-months-old, our daughter Charley had been fighting constant infections for the last several weeks and just was not getting any better. This led us to the emergency room where after several tests and scans we would learn that she had a blood cancer, specifically AML Leukemia. Within hours, we had gone from an average family to finding our new home on the children's oncology floor at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, away from her comfy crib and sound machine to a dark, cold hospital room, where over the next 48 hours we would watch our baby get a central line placed, chemotherapy started and receive blood transfusions as her counts upon diagnosis were so dangerously low.  

We would later learn that Charley had a high-risk form of Leukemia with a “very poor” prognosis, which led us to a stem cell transplant for her best chance of a cure. The next six months were spent in and out of the hospital averaging 28-day stays while Charley underwent high-dose chemo to achieve remission before getting her stem cell transplant from her then two-year-old brother. 

Each round of chemo would follow with a sharp decline in her blood counts, requiring countless blood and platelet transfusions over the course of her treatment.  

During one of her most aggressive cycles after Charley had thrown up blood for the fourth day in a row, the Nurse Practitioner told us she would need yet another platelet transfusion - it would be the only way to stop the bleeding as her body did not have the ability to create platelets on its own. However, there were only nine bags between the adult and children’s hospitals, so they were prioritizing the active bleeding patients first. A couple more hours went by, and the bleeding continued, and Charley was finally prioritized for one of those nine bags. Emotions were high when that bag finally reached our room, and the next day I participated in my first blood donation. 

I wish I could say that that was the only time blood and platelet products were limited, but it was only the first of many. At times, Charley would receive a fraction of her need simply because “some” was better than none and that was all they had.  As we became more connected in the childhood cancer community, we learned this was a constant challenge across many oncology floors in the United States.  

Chemo can kill all cells, including the healthy ones, thus preventing the body from being able to produce blood and platelets, fostering the reliance on transfusions throughout the cancer treatment process. Charley underwent a stem cell transplant in addition to chemo, which placed her at a higher need for transfusions - and at times, needing multiple platelet transfusions a day to curb the bleeding. 

Today Charley is two years old and thriving. She still sees her oncology teams monthly for blood draws to ensure she remains in remission. Despite being on the other side, she has a long road ahead of her. 

Your donations are going to people, to kids, who desperately need it, to people whose lives depend on it. In addition to cancer patients, your blood is going to trauma victims.  

One Monday as Charley was attending her monthly oncology clinic visit at Vanderbilt Medical Center Children’s Hospital, I spoke to her doctor about the blood supply levels in advance of coming to share her story here with you. Little did I know that just floors below us, the victims of the Covenant School mass shooting were being treated. It was blood donated at Red Cross that was used to treat those patients. 

If not for people who donate blood and platelets, Charley would not be here today.

Thank you. 

Sarah Chance