COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Sweltering summer days can be dangerous for many, especially those without access to reliable air conditioning, but a Columbus organization is making sure the people they check in on each day are staying safe.

LifeCare Alliance runs Meals on Wheels in central Ohio, delivering 8,000 meals a day. However, as temperatures rise, the organization also focuses on safety in the heat.

“It’s awful hot, and a lot of the clients are by themselves, and they don’t have a whole lot of air conditioning in many instances,” Meals on Wheels driver Don Poland said.

Drivers do a safety check every day, but with temperatures feeling like triple digits, they said those checks are more important than ever.

“This is a tough time of year,” LifeCare Alliance President and CEO Chuck Gehring said. “It’s as tough as the middle of January when it snows and it’s probably just as dangerous.”

LifeCare Alliance is doing more than checking; they also have fans for clients who need them.

Two people who receive meals said they also received fans from the drivers, helping to cool down their homes.

“They open up the door and they say, ‘Oh, it’s hot,’ and I’ve given fans out through the course of the week to as many as need them, and they’re grateful for them,” Poland said.

The extra care is paying off.

“We’re very fortunate we have not had a heat-related death of a senior medically challenged person in central Ohio for over 15 years,” Gehring said.

“We are out here every day helping folks that need the meal,” Poland said. “It gives us a chance to check on them. It makes them feel better knowing someone is coming.”

LifeCare Alliance is only delivering fans to Meals on Wheels clients, but if you need one, it holds public distributions as well. The next public distribution is Monday, July 31, at 670 Harmon Ave. It starts at 2 p.m. and will end once the fans are gone.

For more about LifeCare’s public distributions, call 614-437-2870.