Valerie Tran (MUP/MPH) along with fellow student Angela Wan, BSN (SPH/SNRE) won $10,000 from the first-ever Climate Change and Health Contest for Nurses sponsored by Health Care Without Harm.

The students will partner with the Fresno County Dept of Public Health to implement a pilot project to address climate change titled, "Nurses for Cool and Healthy Homes." As part of the project, public health nurses will conduct home environmental assessments to assess their home-visit patients' vulnerability to heat-related illness during extreme heat events. These nurses will serve as a resource to connect these patients to public works, utility assistance programs, and weatherization strategies that are affordable, practical, and climate-friendly.

Tran added, "My work with Larissa Larsen (Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning) on building weatherization and heat-vulnerability inspired me to take this route for our project. It's been great to see this intersection between public health, urban planning, and climate change come to life."

Valerie Tran (right) with Angela Wan (left) in front of the School of Public Health.

As a result of the award, Tran and Wan will also have an opportunity to present their project at the June 2014 CleanMed conference in Cleveland, Ohio.