City Offers Tips for Keeping Seniors Cool

Last weekend's may be officially over, but with temperatures still forecast to stay in the 90s for the next few days, concerns about health and safety for local residents - particularly seniors - are still very real.

In response, Sierra Madre's Community & Personnel Services Department, in conjunction with the city's has issued a list of tips meant to remind local seniors of ways to stay cool during the hot summer months.

Here are some great tips to help keep cool:

• Slow down, avoid strenuous activity. Do not try to do too much on a hot day.
• Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing. Light colors will reflect heat and sunlight and help maintain normal body temperature.
• Protect your face with a wide-brimmed hat.
• Drink plenty of water regularly and often, even if you do not feel thirsty and stay hydrated.
• Stay indoors as much as possible. If you do not have air conditioning, stay on your lowest floor, out of the sun or go to a place where you can get relief from the heat, such as air conditioned, library, theaters and other community facilities that may offer refuge during the warmest times of the day.
• Electric fans do not cool the air, but they do help evaporate perspiration, which cools your body.
• Cover windows that receive morning or afternoon sun with drapes, shades, awnings or louvers. Outdoor awnings or louvers can reduce the heat that enters a home by up to 80 percent.
• Check on family, friends and neighbors.
• If you believe you, or anyone you are with, is experiencing a heat-related medical emergency, promptly call 911, and if possible, move to a cooler place.

Seniors Welcome at City Facilities

For those local senior citizens who may not have air conditioning in their homes or the means to afford using it as much as may be necessary, the city is also welcoming seniors to visit any of the following public facilities where the air conditioning can help them keep cool.

Those place include:

• – Open Monday – Thursday, 7:30 am to 5:30 pm and every other Friday, 8 am to 5 pm (626) 355-7135
• – Open Monday – Wednesday, Noon to 9 pm, Thursday & Friday, Noon to 6 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm (626) 355-7186

• – Open Monday – Thursday, 8:30 am to 6:30 pm & every other Friday, 9 am to 6 pm (626) 355-5278.  The Aquatics Center is open for summer season until Septemer 5; please call (626) 355-2356 for hours of operation.