Fires, floods, vector-borne diseases, heat waves, droughts – all are increasingly occurring worldwide often because of climate change. The result is that more people suffer from short- and long-term health problems. This month, the WHO issued a letter signed by 300 organizations representing 45 million health professionals urging immediate action on climate change.
In the health care industry, some professionals are doing more than treating their patients – they're educating them about the dangers of climate change and what actions they can take to reduce energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels. Dr. Andrew Schamess, an internal medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, has studied how climate change impacts Americans' lives and the healthcare system ever since volunteering as a medic in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He can discuss the trickledown effect of climate change on the health care system.
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