Tweetcap: Stephen Parodi, MD, shares op-ed on health care and wildfires

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, Stephen Parodi, MD, associate executive director at The Permanente Medical Group, shared his insights on the California wildfires through the lens of health care. In the piece, Dr. Parodi — who leads an emergency management team with oversight for more than 4 million patients and 21 hospitals within Kaiser Permanente Northern California — calls for greater collective action in addressing climate change, as well as improved infrastructure to better prepare for these disasters.

Medical evacuees are the new refugees of climate change. @nytopinion https://t.co/gnIR9eQuRw

— Stephen Parodi, MD (@StephenParodiMD) November 1, 2019

This is a “new normal” many medical professionals must learn to address without any training…

From @nytopinion: Most physicians never anticipate having to empty their hospitals while smoke fills the halls, writes @StephenParodiMD https://t.co/0LUjQTzlZS

— NYT Health (@NYTHealth) November 1, 2019

…and understanding how to evacuate patients, many of whom are critically ill, is now a necessary skill…

When ‘Do No Harm’ Means Evacuating Hospitals: In California, medical evacuees are the new refugees of #climatechange, by @StephenParodiMD https://t.co/d0um8KMlYx via @NYTopinion #CaliforniaFires

— André Picard (@picardonhealth) November 1, 2019

…the issues that climate change present in this area are unparalleled and require innovative solutions…

☀️“The #ClimateChange crisis is this generation’s great problem to solve.”

Spread this moving account of how #wildfires are disrupting #health and #healthcare for millions h/t @StephenParodiMD: https://t.co/rTVrAnYgrz #PermanenteMedicine #CaliforniaFires pic.twitter.com/EA23qB4fHS

— Najeh Ahmad, MD, MPH (@KPbewelldoc) November 2, 2019

…which is why a number of Permanente physicians, care professionals, and executives are spreading the word about this important subject…

Appreciate @StephenParodiMD for raising awareness about health care and wildfires by writing this important opinion piece in @nytimes https://t.co/FfalBpHbci #PermMedLeads pic.twitter.com/PomrEoxGFx

— David Grossman (@grossman_d) November 2, 2019

Check out #tpmg physician Dr. Steve Parodi’s editorial in #nytimes When ‘Do No Harm’ Means Evacuating Hospitals in California https://t.co/xyut0jE3g7

— Alyce Sophia Adams (@alyceadamsPhD) November 4, 2019

Proud of my friend and colleague @StephenParodiMD for writing this important @nytimes opinion piece highlighting the heroic work being done by our physicians and care team in the wake of the devastating wildfires that have struck California. https://t.co/0cIIiwmJ76 #PermMedLeads

— Chris Grant (@cmgrant) November 5, 2019

Thank you, @StephenParodiMD, for writing with such clarity and pathos about what you’ve heard and experienced these past weeks. I echo your sentiment that we need to take collective responsibility to tackle climate change. Our health depends on it. https://t.co/YuUwZXGwMv

— Mark Schuster, MD, PhD (@DrMarkSchuster) November 1, 2019

…organizations and health experts outside of Kaiser Permanente are also sharing this story of national importance…

“Most physicians never anticipate having to empty their hospitals while smoke fills the halls and the sky glows red. This is becoming our everyday reality in Northern California” – #CMADocs @StephenParodiMD https://t.co/0uWlbA0XvP #wildfires #cawildfires

— California Medical Association (@CMAdocs) November 4, 2019

“The health care system often serves as an early warning for larger challenges: Food and housing insecurity, unsafe physical environments and social isolation often present at the doors of our hospitals” https://t.co/B2ZEiQINB1 #preparedness #publichealth

— Ray Barishansky (@rbarishansky) November 1, 2019

“I must have missed the wildfire evacuation course in medical school. Learning how to move critically ill patients while flames lick the ground just feet away wasn’t part of my residency training.”
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— Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA (@BurgartBioethix) November 2, 2019

…and its even sparking conversation through other prominent publications…

https://t.co/C9owVD0VV8 @StephenParodiMD @aboutKP @KPSCALnews @PBiddinger @MassGeneralNews @MGHMedicine

— Dr. Robert Glatter (@DrRobertGlatter) November 4, 2019

To read the full article, visit the New York Times website.