Climate Resilience

UCLA Health Climate Resilience Progress

UCLA Health’s climate resilience plan and process is explicitly equity-centered and designed to anticipate and address the disproportionate burden of climate-related harm on vulnerable populations. The planning framework integrates health equity, environmental drivers of health (EDOH), and social vulnerability factors such as age, income, housing status, occupation (e.g., outdoor workers), disability, and access to care—into systemwide impact assessments and intervention strategies. High-risk groups identified include older adults, children, low-income communities, communities of color, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those with chronic or mental health conditions, all of whom face elevated risks from extreme heat, wildfire smoke, displacement, and environmental exposures. 

In response, UCLA Health’s resilience strategy prioritizes culturally and linguistically appropriate care, targeted clinical interventions (e.g., screening and treatment for climate-related health conditions), workforce and community support systems, and place-based partnerships to mitigate inequities. This approach is operationalized through cross-functional task forces spanning clinical care, infrastructure, workforce wellbeing, and community engagement—ensuring that resilience planning not only prepares for climate hazards but actively reduces structural disparities in health outcomes.

Some of the existing deliverables and work developed thus far as part of UCLA Health's resiliency planning process includes - a Hazard Vulnerability Assessment integrating climate risks and social determinants of health for UCLA Health's Ambulatory Clinic Network; Toolkits for preparedness for Climate Hazards; and a 2023 Climate Resiliency Planning Progress Report.