Federal Cross of Merit for Professor Grewe

When the temperature climbs above 30 degrees for days on end, this poses a serious health risk to many people. People with chronic illnesses, the elderly, those who need long-term care, children, pregnant women and unborn babies are particularly at risk. The same applies to people who work outdoors, those who are homeless, or those who do physical work, such as many workers in the health system / health care sector.

Professor Dr Henny Annette Grewe (retired) drew attention to the health consequences of extreme weather and environmental conditions at an early stage. For her pioneering work on health protection in hot weather, the Fulda-based health scientist was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon last Friday in her home district of Uelzen.

The medical scientist taught and conducted research from 1995 to 2023 as a professor in the department of health science at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. In 2008, together with Professor Dr Beate Blättner, she founded the ‘Climate Change and Health’ working group and established this as a key research focus at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. The focus was on how health protection, prevention and care can be adapted to cope with increasingly extreme heat events. She paid particular attention to vulnerable population groups. Together with her team, she also developed a system for monitoring heat-related mortality in order to make risks more visible and to enable measures to be planned and implemented in a more targeted manner.

Turning research into solutions

Alongside her research work, Professor Grewe was committed to developing concrete, practical solutions based on the research findings. She provided advisory services to numerous local authorities, federal states and facilities on the development of heat protection measures and heat action plans. She is currently working with an interdisciplinary team to explore the feasibility of regulations and measures for health protection during heatwaves at federal level.

In 2024, she published the handbook ‘Protecting Against Heat: A Handbook for Nursing and Healthcare Facilities’, an indispensable reference work for staff and decision-makers. It provides specific recommendations for protecting patients and residents in care homes, as well as for staff to protect themselves. It also helps to understand why today’s weather conditions are already dangerous and why this risk will become significantly greater in the future.

Beyond regional boundaries

“Through her work, Professor Dr Grewe has set new standards in applied research,” says University President Professor Dr Karim Khakzar, paying tribute to the researcher’s achievements. “Through her research and her tireless commitment to putting academic findings into practice, she has played a key role in shaping the university’s profile. We congratulate Professor Grewe on this significant honour.”

The dean of the department of health science, Professor Dr Benjamin Ewert, emphasises: “Professor Dr Grewe has carried out pioneering work and, through her efforts, has accelerated the urgently needed adaptations to extreme heatwaves. At the same time, her dedication has brought our department nationwide recognition. We are delighted that she will continue to make her research expertise available to us even after her transfer to retirement.”

Remaining active in heat protection

Professor Grewe is involved in the HABITAT research project as an expert on the Advisory Board. HABITAT is a research consortium funded by the Hessian LOEWE Program, comprising the Departments of Medicine and Geography at the University of Marburg and the Department of Health Science at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. By 2027, the researchers aim to develop a functional forecasting system to predict individual risks associated with heat and rapid weather changes for people with chronic illnesses, with the aim of reduce the risks of acute exacerbations in health status and to make the targeted allocation of scarce resources within the healthcare system predictable and plannable.