A beach goer uses one of the newly installed sunscreen lotion dispensers at 21st Street, Miami Beach.
Leslie Ovalle/ Staff Writer
Despite the fact that people like Stephanie Fernandez are aware of the dangers of sun exposure, the number of those affected by skin conditions in Florida is only increasing.
In an effort to control the spread of these skin conditions, the City of Miami Beach and the Mount Sinai Medical Center have partnered up to decrease the Sunshine State’s skin cancer rates by installing 50 sunscreen dispensers in public pools, parks and various access points around the beach.
According to an interview in the Miami Herald with Jose Lutzky, the director of the melanoma program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Florida has the second highest number of melanoma–a type of skin cancer that forms pigmentation cells in the skin–incidents in the nation.
Fernandez, a sophomore majoring in journalism, is conscious of the importance of healthy skin.
“Your skin is very important,” she said. “It is your largest organ and it pretty much explains your health.”
Eighty percent of skin cancer deaths are due to melanoma and the best ways to prevent the skin condition is by avoiding long exposure to intense sunlight and to practice sun safety, according to the Florida Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery.
Fernandez never forgets her sunscreen and takes precautions to minimize her exposure to the sun
She stated that she sees a great benefit in the installation of the public sunscreen dispensers because they are free and and they give the community easy access to a very important product.
The funding for the sunscreen dispensers was appropriated from the City of Miami Beach’s partnership with Destination Brands to create a line of sun care products.
The products are sold in stores around the city and can also be found online. The Miami Beach brand is also the brand being used in the sunscreen dispensers.
At a sun protection factor of 30 (SPF 30) the MB Miami Beach Triple Action Sea Kelp Sunscreen Lotion is water resistant and made in the United States.
Carmen Victoria Framil, a nurse practitioner at the University’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, sees many benefits in the installation of the sunscreen dispensers, but emphasizes that reapplication is key to sun protection.
“Most people will remember to put sunblock on once, but they’ll forget to keep putting it on,” she said. “I think [the sunscreen dispensers] could help by making it more available, but it is still ultimately about needing to re-apply and re-apply.”
She recommends reapplying every 80 minutes and frequently checking the expiration dates of the products.
While the sunscreen dispensers have been getting a lot of positive feedback, many feel that they are not enough to lower the state’s melanoma cancer statistics.
Dexter Peralta, a senior majoring in political science, argues that these recent installations are not enough to make a large enough impact.
“People have to take personal responsibility,” Peralta said. “I’m sure that there are a lot of people like me who just forget [about sun care] or others that simply don’t care.”
Professionals like Framil and Aimee Green, a nurse practitioner in University Health Services, question the extent of how much the sunscreen dispensers will impact the community.
They believe that education on sun exposure and care is much more important than the availability that these sunscreen dispensers will provide.
“Are they going to be appropriately storing it so that the potency of the sunscreen effect is not diminished?” Framil said. “Are there instructions on there saying how much you should use? Because if there aren’t, then it isn’t going to do much of a difference.”
Nonetheless, they see positivity in that it is free and the City of Miami Beach, along with Mount Sinai Medical Center, are making this staple product accessible to the community.
The inauguration of the first sunscreen dispenser was on Friday, March 13, on 21st street, Miami Beach. The dispenser was unveiled by City Manager Jimmy Morales.
The remaining fifty sunscreen dispensers will be installed in the following weeks.
Very cool to see Miami Beach doing this. Sun protection is so important and pretty easy to do. Sunscreen goes a long way. We’re happy to see this!