Building climate resiliency in a small, rural eastern Ontario hospital from a facilities management perspective

Protecting critical building infrastructure and equipment in small, rural eastern Ontario hospitals from intensifying weather patterns is crucial to ensuring continuous, reliable operations-but incredibly challenging. Smaller hospitals face the same climate-driven risks as larger hospitals in urban environments; however, their remote location often means they do not have the same access to resources that are integral to supporting healthcare services and programs. Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) offers first-hand experiences of impacts related to climate change, and how a small, rural healthcare facility rallies to remain agile, ready to respond quickly to weather events to remain a viable community healthcare provider-and a leader. A few contributing factors to climate-induced operational constraints from a facilities management perspective have been highlighted within, including maintaining building infrastructure and equipment, emergency planning with a focus on cybersecurity, policies for change, and the importance of transformational leadership.