Hospitals in Arizona, Florida, Kansas and Oklahoma run by the Department of Veterans Affairs are among the system's most at-risk facilities that are jeopardized by increasing climate threats, according to a report published by the VA and obtained by Inside Climate News.
The agency first established a Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan in 2021 and has measured its progress each year since. In the most recent report, the VA found that specifically hospitals in Florida and Kansas could be among the highest risk facilities with those regions likely to be affected by multiple extreme weather events in the coming years, Inside Climate reported.
"Impacts that will happen from [unpredictable weather extremes] will include lost time, canceled appointments. . . slips, falls, even accidents on the roadways going to [and] from work and home," a VA employee was quoted in the report saying. Facilities in Oklahoma and Arizona are likely to be affected by different extreme weather circumstances brought on by extreme heat.
The VA has already taken steps to make its facilities more climate friendly. Since 2011 it has invested more than $1.1billion in upgrades at 88 medical centers, making improvements in energy and water infrastructure.