Health care facility climate change resiliency workshop

In addition to their primary roles in treating illness and injuries, health care facilities provide a first line of defence in protecting individuals and communities from the impacts of climate change. However, recent events demonstrate that health facilities can be vulnerable to climate hazards through impacts on infrastructures (e.g., buildings, equipment), services and on the health of patients and staff.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) collaborated with Health Canada, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, the Institut National de Santé Publique Québec (INSPQ) and Synergie Santé Environment to convene international experts for the Health Care Facility Climate Change Resiliency Workshop held in Montréal, Québec, Canada on September 8, 2015. The workshop brought together 33 experts from 8 countries to:

• share information on existing climate change resiliency tools for health care facilities
• share examples of tool implementation, best practices for application, challenges encountered and suggestions for effective use
• discuss opportunities for future collaboration in efforts to enhance health care resiliency to climate change impacts

This report presents the workshop results. It includes summaries of presentations made on climate change health care resiliency tools from different countries and examples of their application. It also captures key recommendations made by workshop participants regarding collaborative actions needed to enhance health care facility resiliency in the Americas. Proposed next steps for PAHO are included at the end of the report.

The report includes case studies of tool development and use in the Americas: Mexico, St. Vincent & the Grenadine, Canada, USA, Colombia, Brazil.