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Article: Robert J. Rydman, public health epidemiologist Recognized deadly 1995 heat wave was public health problem
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- July 23, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2003 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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Public health epidemiologist Robert J. Rydman was a major factor
in changing the way cities such as Chicago deal with deadly heat
waves.
When he saw people coming into Cook County Hospital in the July
1995 heat wave that killed 733 people here, he also saw that the
problem wasn't really a medical problem--it was too late to treat
many heat victims. The problem was one of public health.
"He saw that the real problem lay out in the community with people
who were highly vulnerable," said Gary Albrecht, his friend and
fellow public health professor at the University of Illinois at
Chicago. "That problem had to do with people who were vulnerable or