Building Operational Resiliency Against Climate Change and an Unreliable Power Grid - NTTAP FEATURED SESSION

Climate change is a main driver for intensifying natural disasters and other extreme weather events that cause widespread power outages that affect both patient health and community health center services. Without reliable access to electricity, CHCs are unable to provide necessary services, forcing health centers to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. Populations that have been systematically marginalized are disproportionately affected by climate change and rely heavily on the ability of CHCs to remain resilient, especially in emergency situations. Recently, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a categorical waiver permitting emergency power to be supplied by sources other than a generator, including a solar microgrid system. Microgrids are innovative pieces of technology that can connect and disconnect from the grid and utilize a battery storage system that allows health centers to tap into stored energy while continuing as fully operational. In this session, CrescentCare Community Health Center and the CHARGE partnership will discuss the benefits of installing solar microgrids and backup battery systems and how this turnkey solution helps health center operations and patient care, all while reducing carbon emissions.