High Alert Institute Recognized for Leadership in Climate Resilience and Healthcare Sustainability

LAKE WALES, FLORIDA, USA, April 22, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The High Alert Institute was recognized on April 22nd by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its public commitments to decarbonizing its operations and improving resilience in the face of climate change. As part of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), HHS shared that the Institute was one of more than 130 organizations that have joined the White House-HHS Health Sector climate pledge, committing to align with the Biden administration’s goal of reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The High Alert Institute has already worked to achieve climate resilience by developing and deploying innovative combinations of “off-the-shelf” and “ready-for-commercialization” technologies to empower healthcare facilities, providers and the people they serve to reduce the environmental and health impacts of climate change and pollution while saving money. It is leading the way on tackling emissions at its own carbon-negative facility located in the Tiger Creek Nature Preserve.

“We are honored to be one of the first nonprofits to sign the White House-HHS Health Sector climate pledge,” Maurice A. Ramirez, DO, PhD, Founder and Chairperson of the High Alert Institute recently told a meeting of business innovators, financial professional, community leaders and agency directors. “Using only common off-the-shelf building materials and systems, our headquarters is the most energy efficient renovation in North America despite filtering over 60,000 gallons of water daily.”

“If we can do it, everyone in healthcare can do it,” states Allison A. Sakara, NP, MSN, RN, PHRN the Institute’s Co-Founder and Executive Director. “The High Alert Institute achieved net zero emissions for the first time at the end of 2023. Today our facility, which houses our aquatic animal shelter and administrative offices, is carbon negative, net emissions negative and provides electricity to the local power grid. Our back-up power system employs solar, wind, batteries and a high efficiency generator that ensures energy efficiency, energy independence and energy resilience.”

A September 2021 consensus statement from more than 200 medical journals named climate change the number one threat to global public health. It exposes millions of people in the United States to harm every year—with disproportionate impacts on communities that are often already the victims of longstanding discrimination—through increases in extreme heat waves, wildfires, flooding, vector-borne diseases and other factors that worsen chronic health conditions. The healthcare sector also contributes to climate change itself, accounting for approximately 8.5% of U.S. domestic emissions.

The HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, developed the White House/HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge to help focus industry response to climate challenges. In addition to reducing their carbon footprint, signatories also commit to producing detailed plans to prepare their facilities for both chronic and acute catastrophic climate impacts.

The High Alert Institute, Inc. is a 501(c)3 public charity focusing on four All Hazards, One Health, One Nature (AHOHN) areas:
• Disaster Readiness & Business Continuity Education/Resources
• Animal Care and Welfare, including a freshwater aquatic animal shelter and rescue
• Environmental Stewardship & Determinants of Health
• AHOHN Innovations & Technologies

Maurice A. Ramirez, DO, PhD
High Alert Institute, Inc.
+1 863-696-8090
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