"Safe haven in the storm: Protecting lives and margins with climate-smart health care" analyzes billions of dollars in losses and resilience-related savings to demonstrate how preparing for extreme weather can make or break a health system.
"Safe haven in the storm" examines extreme weather's bottom line damages to hospitals, such as suspension or closure of emergency departments and other clinical services, supply chain disruptions and price increases, and reduced clinical demand and reimbursement rates. It also documents less-publicized but proven financial harm such as the loss of research animals and data.
The benefits of preparedness outlined in the paper include return on investment and risk management, fiduciary responsibility, enhanced reputation, and coverage stability. Drawing from case studies from health systems such as Partners HealthCare and Texas Medical Center, the paper demonstrates the immediate benefits from investments in resilient, sustainable design measures as well as reduced impacts after an extreme weather event.
