Community Health Center Climate Change Resilience and Mitigation Efforts

To assess how the consortia’s CHC members are currently working to address climate change, an all-member survey for NCCN and HANC was conducted, which 15 out of 15 member organizations completed. The survey was structured to assess current climate change mitigation (energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation), resilience, and leadership activities, and interest in adopting future climate change related collaborative activities.

The 3-pg analysis of the findings and the related infographic detail the efforts currently being conducted, opportunities on the horizon, and the dedication of community health centers to take a leadership role in viewing climate change as a public health emergency for their communities.

Click here to read the brief~

The Health Alliance of Northern California (HANC) and the North Coast Clinics Network (NCCN) are regional associations of community health centers who annually serve more than 200,000 patients across 14 rural, northern California counties.

Northern California’s rural community health centers (CHCs) faced consecutive public health emergencies over the last several years. In 2020 these CHCs concurrently contended with the COVID-19 pandemic and the wildfires. During this unprecedented period of co-occurring emergencies, ensuring access to health care was their priority.

The focus of this paper will be to highlight

1) ongoing health care inequities in northern California’s rural areas, which CHCs encountered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic;

2) logistical challenges CHCs met in providing care during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic;

3) collaborative strategies used to address these COVID-19 obstacles;

4) needed immediate solutions, considering pre and post COVID-19 health challenges

Click here to read more.

For decades, Regional Associations of California (RAC) clinic and health center members have provided essential health services to anyone in need, regardless of their ability to pay, immigration status, or their individual circumstances. For over 20 years, RAC members have worked in tandem to improve health outcomes, address social determinants of health, and combat health inequities at the local, state, and federal levels.

Although we have made significant progress toward achieving greater health access for low-income Californians, the time has come to mobilize the power and reach of the health center movement to make health equity and justice a reality for all Californians.

Read the Issue Brief here

A host of local officials gathered in a dirt lot on Foster Avenue Tuesday afternoon to get their golden shovels dirty and celebrate the groundbreaking of the state-of-the-art Arcata Community Health Center, which is slated to open in 2023.

Once complete, the 33,000 square-foot facility will use a solar array — and an emergency backup generator — to power 35 exam rooms and a laboratory that will treat an estimated 40,000 patients per year — both adults and children — receiving primary care. The center will consolidate Open Door Community Health Centers’ two existing Arcata clinics — North Country Clinic and Humboldt Open Door Clinic — in a facility that meets “the same standards” as Open Door’s new health centers in Crescent City, Eureka and Fortuna.

Read the North Coast Journal Article: Click here: