PAN AMERICAN CLIMATE RESILIENT HEALTH SYSTEMS COURSE

Free Certificate-Based Program

Get equipped to understand health sector vulnerability, apply adaptation strategies and health system greening while integrating health equity and undertaking broad stakeholder engagement.

The course will consist of bi-weekly April 4 - May 2, 2023 (Tuesday and Thursday) live-virtual 90-minute sessions, offered in English and Spanish through live interpretation.

10:00 - 11:30 EST / 11:00 - 12:30 UYT

English, Spanish, French Interpretation Available

INTRODUCTION:

Health systems, including hospitals, are on the frontlines of climate change, bearing the costs of increasing disease burdens and more frequent extreme weather events while simultaneously inadvertently contributing to negative environmental and climate-related impacts.

The goal of this course is to equip federal, regional and local health systems planners, hospital administrators, long-term care/community care professionals, emergency planners, sustainability officers, public health officials, health practitioners, and others with the knowledge and tools needed to prepare for climate change. This includes how to apply best practices to assess health system vulnerabilities and adaptation options, measure and monitor the climate resilience and environmental sustainability of health systems, and undertake health system greening, all while integrating health equity and undertaking broad stakeholder engagement.

Health Canada, the Pan American Health Organization, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education have co-organized this course, with input from Ministries of Health and Environment and civil-society climate and health practice communities throughout the Americas.

AUDIENCE:

The expected audience includes health systems planners, hospital administrators, health facility board members, long-term care/community care professionals, business continuity officers, emergency planners, sustainability officers, public health officials, health practitioners, and paramedics

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Articulate to key partners and the public the unique challenges health systems and health care facilities (including mental healthcare) face in a changing climate
Apply methodology and frameworks for assessing vulnerability and adaptation for health systems in any context
Apply approaches for measuring and monitoring the environmental sustainability of health systems and opportunities to green health systems
Apply a health equity lens into efforts to address health system decarbonization and build climate resilience
Develop an initial plan to prepare their health system organization moving forward for specific climate impacts of the region and to communicate and engage with key partners on this issue.

COURSE STRUCTURE:

The course will consist of bi-weekly (Tuesday and Thursday) live-virtual 90-minute sessions, offered in English and Spanish through live interpretation. Each session will consist of 40 minutes of “theory/foundation” followed by 1-2 case studies, presenting health authority actions across the Americas. There will be a live question and answer which will be monitored by the program team and questions will be consolidated and addressed to expert lecturers. Resources such as frameworks and suggested readings will be provided to all course participants following each session. Video recordings will be available following each session for asychronous view.

SESSION TOPICS:

1) Tuesday, April 4 | Healthcare systems in a changing climate

Carolyn Tateishi, Director, Climate Change and Innovation Bureau, Health Canada
Cecilia Sorensen, MD, Director, GCCHE
Elizabeth Schenk, PhD, RN, Executive Director of Environmental Stewardship at Providence
Avriel Rose Diaz, Executive Director Walking Palms Global Health
Dr. Courtney Howard, Emergency Physician

2) Thursday, April 6 | Assessing risks to human health and health systems from climate change

Dr. Mercy Borbor-Córdova, Polytechnic School of Litoral

3) Tuesday, April 11 | A special focus on health facilities: Assessing risks and opportunities for adaptation and resilience building

Vital Ribeiro, President of the board, Projeto Hospitais Saudáveis

4) Thursday, April 13 | The health adaptation process: Key actors, activities, and partnerships

Dr. Daniel Buss, Pan American Health Organization
Dr. Carmen Ciganda, Ministry of Public Health Uruguay

5) Tuesday, April 18 | Integrating health equity into efforts to address climate change

Dr. Carlos Faerron Guzmán, MD: Planetary Health Alliance at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Vivian Camacho, General Director of the Health Ministry, Bolivia
Dr. John M. Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity Interim Director
Dr. Báltica Cabieses, PhD, Professor of social epidemiology ICIM UDD

6) Thursday, April 20 | Estimating the costs of the health and health system impacts of climate change

7) Tuesday, April 25 | Opportunities and guidance for lowering the carbon footprint of health systems

Dr. James Hospedales, MD, Founder, EarthMedic/EarthNurse
Dr. Fiona Miller, Director, CASCADES; Director, CSHS; Professor
Josh Karliner, Director of Global Partnerships, Health Care Without Harm

8) Thursday, April 27 | Measuring, monitoring, and evaluating climate resilient health systems

Peter Berry, Senior Policy Analyst and Science Advisor to the Director, Health Canada
Dr. Stella Hartinger, Cayetano Heredia University; Comprehensive Development, Environment and Health Unit
Anwar Mendez, MPH, PAHO

9) Tuesday, May 2 | Effectively communicating climate change risks

Dr. Edward Maibach, Director, Mason’s Center for Climate Change Communication