CPCA Responds to Hurricane Hilary
California community health centers (CHCs) continue to confront the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related events, most recently Hurricane Hilary’s landfall that was predicted to impact much of Southern California.
The first-ever Tropical Storm Watch was issued for California, and on August 19th, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for much of Southern California to support response and recovery efforts. CPCA’s Emergency Management team reached out to members and consortia partners to share resources for response and recovery efforts and to learn of any impact to staff and operations.
The unprecedented storm brought heavy rainfall, high winds, and triggered flash flooding, unsafe driving conditions, road closures, and power outages. CPCA learned that several health center sites were closed on August 21st mostly due to staff being unable to reach their workplace, but were able to reopen the following day. Tri-State Community Healthcare Center in Adelanto, and Northeast Valley Health Corporation in Van Nuys sustained some roof damage but were able to resume operations and the damage has since been repaired.
Our team will continue to monitor any state or federal funding opportunities made available for recovery efforts and continue to support CHCs as the frequency and intensity of climate-related incidents increase. To report impact to operations, or for questions and support, please reach out to Ivan Prado, Program Coordinator of Health Center Operations, at iprado@cpca.org.
Hurricane Hilary Updates from The Office of Governor Newsom: