Reach Center

View through a doorway into a small room of three people seated around a table and talking

About Reach

The Reach Center is an interdisciplinary team at the University of Washington. Our mission is to develop, implement and evaluate interventions to protect health and safety during extreme weather and environmental conditions. We work across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

Health Interventions

We evaluate the effectiveness of a program to reduce illness and death due to extreme heat.

Learn more
Two people in white lab coats stand facing a person in a blue suit

Fellows

We recruit and train interdisciplinary teams that will implement and evaluate interventions to keep people healthy in extreme weather and environmental conditions.

Learn more
Three researchers discuss something on the screen of a laptop sitting on a lab counter

Events and Resources

We educate scientists and practitioners to effectively engage communities in their work.
More soon!

People site at long tables facing a person giving a presentation

Get Involved

Our Reach goes farther with you. If you're a health practitioner, scientist or a community member, learn how you can get involved. 

Why Reach

Firefighters stand on a smoldering hill surrounded by burnt trees

Extreme weather can be dangerous. Wildfires can kill and hurt people and damage critical infrastructure and property. Wildfire smoke can be dangerous to breathe. Increasingly hot weather poses additional risks of heat stroke, dehydration and other heat-related illnesses. Floods can kill people and damage property.

Scientists have designed interventions that can reduce illness and death in the face of disasters. Reach brings together scientists with practitioners and community members to further develop, implement and evaluate these interventions. If implemented across communities, we believe these interventions have the potential to save lives and reduce suffering.

Reach at UW

The University of Washington is well positioned to host the Reach Center.

Aerial view of University of Washington's red square facing Suzzallo Library
  • We are well-established in the Pacific Northwest as a leader in research on weather and weather-based disasters.
  • We help educate health practitioners across the region.
  • We are experts and leaders in implementation science: the study of how to increase the use of evidence-based information by practitioners and policymakers.

Future Reach

Our vision for the future of Reach is to become a center of excellence focused on implementing and evaluating life-saving initiatives. Our aim is to:

  • Increase understanding of the impacts of heat and other weather events on health across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.
  • Increase commitment across the region to developing, implementing and evaluating interventions to reduce health risks.
  • Advance understanding of how to train the next generation of researchers in implementation science.
Nurse holding clipboard stands facing a patient

We believe Reach has great potential to advance the field of health interventions, while potentially saving lives and reducing illness. With future funding, we would:

  • Expand the areas of disaster ressearch we work in. Our initial focus is on extreme heat, but additional funding would allow us to study other disasters such as wildfires, flooding and more.
  • Build on data tools, such as the Chart Tool.
  • Further our role regionally as a leader in responding to weather-related disasters.