Dear Adelphi community,
As you may already know, current wildfires in Canada are triggering air quality issues across much of New York state, including hazy conditions, fine particles in the air and the smell of smoke in some areas. The Department of Environmental Conservation has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for Long Island, New York City Metro, Lower Hudson Valley, Upper Hudson Valley, Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, and Central New York regions.
You can view the most current Air Quality Index for New York regions online. To find the air quality for your specific area, visit airnow.gov.
New York state Governor Kathy Hochul has communicated that experts are monitoring our air quality and advising individuals with air quality sensitivities to take steps to limit exposure.
Our University is mindful of the health and wellness of the Adelphi community. In an abundance of caution, we are taking the following steps:
- We have temporarily canceled all outdoor athletics activities—they will be rescheduled when the air quality improves. Classes, indoor activities, and operations continue as normal.
- Our Early Learning Center is keeping our youngest Panthers indoors during this time.
- Managers will make every effort to accommodate our employees with health conditions that may be aggravated by poor air quality, as will our faculty members for our students.
- Our Health and Wellness team will continue to monitor the air quality and share important updates.
- In Garden City, we have temporarily increased patrols to be available for unexpected emergencies in connection with the poor air quality. We continue to closely monitor the public safety of our campus locations.
The following precautionary measures will help you protect the health and wellbeing of yourself and your loved ones:
Reduce exposure
- Limit outdoor activity and stay inside when possible.
- Choose less strenuous activities (eg: walking instead of running).
- If you are particularly sensitive to the current conditions or are experiencing any symptoms, contact your healthcare provider.
If you are an older adult or have heart or breathing problems:
- Avoid all strenuous outdoor activities.
- Keep any outdoor activities short.
- Consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them.
- It is recommended that you wear a high-quality mask (e.g. N95 or KN95) when outdoors.
Please feel free to contact Adelphi’s Health Services Center at healthservicescenter@adelphi.
Resources
- New York state Department of Environmental Conservation Advisory.
- New York state Department of Environmental Conservation Air Quality Index.
- AirNow – to pinpoint air quality in your location.
- New York state Department of Health Ozone Factsheet.
- New York state Governor Kathy Hochul’s statement.
Best,
Nicole Gaudino MS, AGNP-C
Executive Director of University Health and Wellness
Public Health & Wellness Committee
healthandwellness@adelphi.