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BOSTON (WBZNewsRadio) - Building on his Green New Deal for Health, Senator Ed Markey has announced the Granting Resources for Eliminating Emissions Now in (GREEN) Hospitals Act to help protect health facilities like hospitals, from climate disaster.
The legislation, which was co-authored by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), would provide $105 billion to modernize and weatherize health care facilities and ultimately reduce emissions, protect public health and guarantee more Americans have access to care before, during and after extreme weather and climate disasters.
“From raging wildfires to devastating flooding, the climate crisis is here, and our health care system is not immune. High winds create power outages – leaving patients and providers without lifesaving equipment. Flooded hospitals shut down, and patients must travel further or wait longer for care. Meanwhile, outdated hospital infrastructure spews dirty emissions into our atmosphere,” said Senator Markey. “Health systems are meant to be a port in the storm, but they cannot be if they don’t have the infrastructure to protect us now and in the future. The GREEN Hospitals Act is an essential step towards a health system that recognizes that climate justice is health justice.”
The legislation has been endorsed by Health Care Without Harm, Boston Medical Center and Providence Hospital System.
“As a safety-net trauma center in a coastal city, which serves the area’s most vulnerable patient population, going green and building for campus resiliency is critical to Boston Medical Center (BMC) delivering on its mission. In order to care for patients and maintain emergency access to critical care services during a natural disaster, BMC has proactively made changes to increase resiliency of critical care hospital infrastructure. BMC supports Senator Markey’s introduction of the GREEN Hospitals Act in order to bring critical federal resources to bear to further bolster the health sector’s role in mitigating the climate crisis,” said Bob Biggio, Senior Vice President of Facilities and Support Services at Boston Medical Center.
The world is already seeing stronger storms, hotter and longer heat waves, an increase in severe wildfires and the warming of our planet's oceans. Just last week, scientists announced the month was the hottest globally on record.
Next week, President Joe Biden plans to travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, where he is expected to speak about his administration's response to the on-going threat of climate change and their efforts to beat the heat. Last week, the President announced new steps to protect workers in extreme heat.
"Even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen it as hot as it is now for as long as it's been," President Biden said. "Even those who deny that we're in the midst of a climate crisis can't deny the impact of extreme heat is having on Americans."
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