Geostellar Launches Nationwide Solar Program for Health Care System Facilities, Employees and Patients
Geostellar, the nation’s first and largest online solar marketplace, today announced at Intersolar North America the launch of Solar.Clinic, a program for health care systems to go solar and offer solar energy to their employees, patients and community members. Working in partnership with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, the program was launched with health systems Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals based in Northeast Ohio; Gundersen Health System serving Western Wisconsin, Northeastern Iowa and Southeastern Minnesota; and Providence Health & Services across the Western United States.
Solar.Clinic is a simple, convenient way for health systems to power their operations and promote clean, affordable solar energy in their communities. Participating health systems receive discounts on solar energy installation, equipment and financing for their own facilities and for the homes of employees, patients and community members. Geostellar also provides an online platform, communications program and distribution support for increasing the deployment of solar energy across each health system’s service area.
“We appreciate the great work performed by Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth over the past decades to reduce the environmental impact associated with the practice of medicine,” remarked David Levine, CEO of Geostellar. “We’re proud to work together to promote both the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy within the health sector and the communities they serve.”
“We are very pleased with the early adoption of the program by some of the pre-eminent health systems in the country,” remarked Eric Lerner, Director of the U.S. Climate and Health program for Health Care Without Harm. “Geostellar has a proven track record of working with leading U.S. corporations to provide this important benefit to their employees. Solar.Clinic provides an important opportunity for health systems to include their employees in their efforts to be more environmentally sustainable and to demonstrate climate leadership.”
The Solar.Clinic program is also designed to boost economic development in the communities served by the health systems. Each installation is performed by qualified local contractors and backed by Geostellar’s supplemental guarantee covering workmanship, equipment and performance.
“I contracted for the installation of solar panels on my own home through the Geostellar platform,” added Mark Platt, Senior Vice President for Business Services at Gundersen Health System. “I am very pleased with the results and will happily recommend the program and services to my colleagues, friends and neighbors.”
As rising temperatures spread diseases, stress hospitals’ critical infrastructure, health organizations must lead the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources. According to Yale University, U.S. healthcare contributes 8% of our nation’s total climate impact and emits more than the entire United Kingdom. U.S. healthcare is also responsible for 12 percent of our acidification, 10 percent of smog pollution, and 9 percent of respiratory disease.
Geostellar’s Solar.Clinic will assist health care systems and the communities they serve in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, as well as the pollutants that affect our health and wellbeing.
