About this event
Health-care systems are both contributors to and victims of climate change, responsible for over 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, higher than the aviation industry, while simultaneously facing rising pressures from extreme weather events, wildfires, and system disruptions.
The launch of the Climate Health System Alliance (CHSA), hosted within the O’Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary, brings together leaders from healthcare, policy, industry, and communities to address this dual challenge.
This event will explore how we can transition toward low-carbon, climate-resilient, and just health-care systems—through leadership, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration. Grounded in real-world implementation and a living laboratory in Alberta, CHSA is focused on turning evidence into action to build health-care systems that are sustainable, high-performing, and prepared for the future.
What happens when extreme flooding, infectious disease, infrastructure disruption, and health-care capacity pressures collide?
As part of the launch, attendees will experience High Water, Silent Spread — an interactive eSIM polycrisis scenario bringing together leaders across health-care, public health, emergency response, innovation, academia, and policy to stress-test healthcare system resilience in real time.
Featured events
Meet the panelists
Dr. Kirsten Fiest, PhD
Dr. Fiest is the Scientific Director of the O'Brien Institute for Public Health and a professor of critical care medicine, community health sciences, and psychiatry at the CSM. She brings deep expertise, a passion for public health, and a collaborative vision to the Institute’s leadership.
Leor Rotchild
Rotchild is a sustainability strategist, CEO of the consulting firm Kavana Partners and the founder of Calgary Climate Week. He is the author of the best-selling book, How we gather matters: Sustainable event planning for purpose & impact, which was recently recognized by the Axiom Business Book Awards with a Bronze Medal for Business Ethics.
William Gagnon
Gagnon is an expert in healthcare systems decarbonization and sustainable medicine. He is the Director of Implementation at the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and he supports health care leaders in decarbonizing their practices.
Dr. Marcia Clark, MD
Dr. Clark is a fellowship‑trained orthopaedic surgeon and Clinical Professor at the University of Calgary. She is nationally recognized for advancing education quality and institutional alignment across the continuum of medical training and currently serves as President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).
Stacey Litvinchuk
Litvinchuk is a senior level healthcare administrator and board member of Excel Society. She is a transformational healthcare executive, strategist, and public policy advisor with more than 25 years of experience leading large, complex health systems through periods of significant change and reform.
Patty Wickson
Wickson is Director, Research & Innovation with the Centre for Learning, Innovation and Quality (CLIQ) at the Brenda Strafford Foundation, where she leads strategic research integration, innovation adoption, and quality transformation across seniors’ and continuing care.
About the Climate Health System Alliance (CHSA)
Climate Health System Alliance (CHSA) — hosted within the O’Brien Institute for Public Health — is advancing the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient, and equitable health-care systems. Health-care contributes over 5% of global emissions—more than the aviation industry—and would rank as the world’s fifth-largest emitter if it were a country. At the same time, it sits on the front lines of climate impacts, from extreme heat to wildfires and system disruptions.
CHSA brings together leaders across health-care, policy, industry, and communities to turn evidence into action—developing the leadership, frameworks, and partnerships needed to build resilient, sustainable, and equitable health-care systems for the future.
The CHSA is an implementation alliance hosted within the O'Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary. Guided by a vision to transform health-care systems toward climate resilience and justice, CHSA advances this through applied research, leadership development, and knowledge translation across three strategic pillars — climate-resilient and sustainable health-care systems, health system leadership in climate action, and ethics and justice in climate and health-care systems. A particular focus of CHSA is advancing women in climate and health leadership, mentoring the next generation of women leaders who will drive health system transformation across Canada. Working at the intersection of implementation science, health economics, and system governance, CHSA connects evidence to action to create health-care systems that are sustainable, equitable, and high-performing. Grounded in a living laboratory in Alberta with a national in reach.
Our pillars
What CHSA focuses on
1. Implementation and evaluation platform
Core Activities
- Apply implementation science to test and expand effective strategies across healthcare settings.
- Evaluate operational, workforce, and organizational outcomes of climate-resilient practices.
- Develop metrics to track readiness, performance, and system sustainability.
- Foster continuous learning through iterative feedback between evidence, practice, and governance.
2. Health economics and data analytics platform
Core Activities
- Conduct cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses of low-carbon and climate-resilient healthcare delivery.
- Assess financial, operational, and health outcomes associated with adaptation and sustainability measures.
- Build system-wide frameworks to support fiscal accountability and performance reporting.
- Generate evidence linking climate readiness to efficiency, cost savings, and health outcomes.
3. Knowledge translation and advocacy platform
Core Activities
- Develop policy briefs, frameworks, and decision-support tools for health leaders and policymakers.
- Support advocacy through evidence-informed engagement with governments, professional associations, and the public.
- Host leadership forums, symposia, and learning exchanges to share knowledge and mobilize action.
- Build accessible resources that translate research into tools for system planners and health professionals.
4. Collaboration and systems partnership platform
Core Activities
- Develop strategic partnerships with healthcare organizations, governmental bodies, and community groups.
- Collaborate with allies such as the Brain Climate Equity Collaborative, Migration and Humanitarian Health Collective, Indigenous organizations, and national healthcare and climate-health organizations.
- Facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-sector projects that integrate implementation, data, and leadership.
- Support community-based and Indigenous-led collaboration for place-based solutions to climate-health challenges.
Event organizer
Dr. Bhavini Gohel
Dr. Bhavini Gohel is a clinical associate professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, and a hospitalist and care of the elderly physician with Alberta Health Services (AHS).
She is the founder and director of the Climate Health System Alliance at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, and serves as director of international partnerships and health system collaboration for the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Her work focuses on transforming healthcare systems toward low-carbon, climate-resilient models.
Want to get involved? Here's how
CHSA is a start-up alliance — and that means early involvement matters. There are meaningful ways to engage right now:
Become part of a growing national network of health professionals committed to climate-resilient health systems.
Help shape the direction of CHSA from the ground up.
Bring your questions, datasets, and expertise to applied research across all three pillars.
Connect with the areas of resilient systems, leadership, or ethics and justice that align with your work and interests.
Access policy briefs, frameworks, and decision-support tools developed for frontline and system-level use.
Join national forums connecting clinicians, administrators, and policymakers on climate-health priorities.
Mentor other health professionals interested in developing a sustainable, resilient healthcare system.
Donate funds to support the impactful work the CHSA is doing.