Climate-resilient acute care clinical operations: A framework that informs how operations within acute care build climate-resilient health systems.

Abstract

Increasingly, health leaders recognize climate change as a crucial issue for healthcare operations, requiring a whole-of-system approach to mobilizing governance, leadership, and resources to respond appropriately. Granular-level guidance is needed to guide the operationalization of adaptation, resiliency, and mitigation strategies specific to acute-care clinical operations within Canadian health facilities. We present the Climate-Resilient Acute Care Clinical Operations Framework to guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of strategies within clinical operations to build more climate-resilient acute care systems. The experience of Alberta Health Services, which is currently the largest provider responsible for the delivery of acute care within Alberta, is highlighted as a case study to demonstrate the practical adoption of this framework. As more health systems adopt similar strategies, sharing data and insights generated will contribute to ongoing iterations and adaptations, ensuring the framework evolves to meet the dynamic needs of healthcare sustainability.