Get started with
micca climate change library
Get started with
micca climate change library
Acerca de
Climate Health stories
Listening Tour
A collection of health stories describing impacts of climate change on our community and health professionals.
The “Climate Health Stories Listening Tour” is an effort to hear the stories of community members and health professionals who are experiencing the effects of the climate crisis across Michigan.
Through pop-up events, one-on-one conversations, and written submissions, we hope to connect with community members from the frontlines and health professionals serving disproportionately impacted communities. With this understanding, we will use the power of the trusted clinical voice to educate others (lawmakers, medical students, and the public) and motivate action that tackles health disparities.
Our ultimate goal is to identify ways 'Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action' can become a trusted ally to patients, and especially underserved populations, in the fight against climate change induced health impacts.
Want to schedule an in-person event?
Interested in telling your story? Click the option that best applies to you:
Video Examples:
MiCCA's Executive Director, Lisa DelBuono, giving an her Clinician Climate Health Story.
​
Please use the links above to submit your contact information and share your story!
MiCCA's Climate Health Equity Coordinator, Jada Robinson, giving an her Community member Climate Health Story.
​
This is an example of what come out of a video interview.
Written Health Stories
Michelle, Highland Park Resident & Retired Mental Health Counselor
Michelle told us that due to so many individuals having health complications, there seem to be more depressed individuals, which connects on a deeper level as some of these illnesses are climate-related. Warmer weather actively worsens her peers' asthma symptoms. This is apparent through frequent hospital visits, including during Michigan’s recent wildfire smoke in the summer. Power outages in her neighborhood cause numerous problems for everyone: her neighbor has an electric wheelchair and has no other choice but quickly finding somewhere to stay when their power goes out. Other residents in the area, including three children and some elderly neighbors, required electricity for their medical necessities. Michelle pointed out the need for emergency preparedness kits her region .
Payge, MD/MPH
Student Ann Arbor
Payge revealed a human face of climate by discussing her experience serving marginalized communities including the unhoused population. In her role as a health professional, she noticed increases in cases of dehydration during extreme heat events. She highlighted that those experiencing homelessness are extremely vulnerable to exacerbated allergies and asthma rates since they are directly within these environments because of insufficient housing. During clinicals, she noticed how changing weather conditions have also led to many of her patients to suffer from expanded difficulties accessing food.
Nikoli, Medical Student
Kalamazoo
Nikoli highlighted that in his experience serving pediatric patients, he witnessed amplified rates of asthma, hospitalizations, and increased morbidity. Within adults, heat exhaustion and strokes are inclining in the midst of extreme heat. In Kalamazoo, they are additionally seeing more lyme disease cases than usual. He finds that patient education is vital as the need to inform his patients of about how to protect themselves and how respond grows more dire. Pediatricians he has worked with in the past have seen these issues progress for decades. He emphasized that as medical professionals, we have to align ourselves with needs and assist accordingly based on resources.
next steps
While climate change often feels like a looming issue that can only be addressed through top-down policy, hearing first-hand how Michigan residents are affected today fortified our commitment to local action and solutions that not only mitigate climate impacts but also improve the health of our communities.
In 2025, we will build on this work to further circulate these stories and to empower health professionals to creatively support their patients as they adapt to a changing climate.​
​​
-
Publicizing the database:
Using the database of climate health stories, we plan to create an interactive map of Michigan. This will include summaries of stories, as well as links to peer reviewed literature that provides context to the projected climatic changes as well the established disease or health pathway. This database will also host a form so that visitors can submit their own story and we will add the literature citations. -
Story animation:
We are in conversations with a videographer and animation artist and plan to have the 3 most impactful stories animated for public-facing education. -
Continued partner support:
Hospitals often offer community health grants through their foundations that target local issues. By using climate-health stories to guide us and illustrating the connection between health and environment, we will reach out to community-based organizations working to improve their local environment and support them in applying for these grants. -
Healthy homes and disaster preparedness advocacy:
Many of the challenges we heard about can be helped through resilient infrastructure. As we advocate, we will emphasize the need for climate investments that address the existing infrastructure issues and the health inequities they create. -
Continued education and advocacy:
We will continue to share stories with medical and nursing students, health professionals, and lawmakers to advocate for increasing preparedness and awareness of climate-health intersections.
​
THANK YOU for the generosity, support and confidence the Colina Foundation extended in awarding us the Grant for 2024.
With this grant, we collected 50 climate-health stories, connected with the public at 13 events, and grew significantly as an organization. Through the story-collecting process we have deepened relationships with community-based partners who are serving their neighbors that have already been affected by the impacts of climate change. We’ve gained an understanding of our responsibility as the health voice in the climate-equity movement, and look forward to building on this work in 2025.
​