BY E. Schwotzer, — 05/24/2021
Healthcare Without Harm released an article on how Southeast Florida hospitals are on the front line of climate change, bearing the costs of increased diseases and more extreme weather events. In 2020, the dual crises of more frequent and intense heat waves, hurricanes, and flooding as well as the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the urgent need for more resilience in health care and communities.
Health Care Without Harm, Cleveland Clinic, and Perkins&Will held a two-day, invite-only virtual summit on climate resilience to catalyze collaborative climate action planning to make Southeast Florida more resilient in the face of climate change and future pandemics. Attendees from health care, government, academia, and community organizations all came together to better understand how climate change and extreme weather events impact the region along with opportunities to collaborate and build more resilience in their communities.
The article can be found here.
Here is an excerpt that features SELF:
A resource list was also created, although many are specific to Southeast Florida we hope you will find them helpful as you think about building health and resilience in your community:
- Anchors in Resilient Communities – community-based partnerships that leverage the purchasing and investment power of anchor institutions to bolster the communities they serve.
- Dr. Cheryl Holder TED Talk – the links between climate change, health, and poverty.
- Energy and Health Impact Calculator – input your organization’s energy consumption and learn about the health impacts to your community.
- Health Care Without Harm’s policy recommendations to the Biden administration and Congress for climate-smart health care.
- HHS Resilience Toolkit – Enhancing health care resilience for a changing climate
- Life at the Fence Line – understanding cumulative health hazards in environmental justice communities
- FEMA National Risk Index – learn about the resilience of your county to the effects of climate change and extreme weather events.
- RELi: Resilient Design for a Changing World – understand the role of the building in the community
- Safe Haven in the Storm: Protecting Lives and Margins Climate-Smart Health Care – a report with case studies demonstrating the risks to health systems of being unprepared and the benefits of investing in climate resilience.
- Solar Energy Loan Fund – provides access to low-interest loans for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and climate resilience in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
- Tree Campus Healthcare – Arbor Day Foundation’s new program to promote more tree canopies to help reduce urban heat islands.
The article can be found here.