Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 37
The health care infrastructure system is a very complex component of the economy. Making improvements to the system
requires mutual cooperation among large private sector
businesses like insurance providers, the federal, state, and
local governments, and those who use health care services.
It is not possible to fix the health care infrastructure at
the local level because it requires a massive partnership
efort that extends far beyond the scope and capacity of
local jurisdictions.
Jurisdictions can help improve the health care infrastructure
by conducting and maintaining an inventory of a
community’s health care infrastructure systems in order
to be prepared for the next disaster. An ongoing dialogue
with health care providers can help local government to
better understand the economic challenges and barriers
to access that confront low-income and hard-to-reach
residents. Rural health centers also face the challenge of
attracting qualified doctors and medical technicians to their
areas.22 This dialogue can potentially strengthen the area’s
available medical services, which make a stronger economic
argument for investment in a community.
An inventory of health care infrastructure systems can help
economic developers plan and make improvements.
Creating a Long-Term, Resilient Foundation for Local Infrastructure
This section examines the steps involved in defining resilient infrastructure, establishing partnerships, and building
budgeting resilience.
Defining Resilient Infrastructure
Resilience is the ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a disaster. This resilience is achieved through strategic
fiscal, planning, and implementation decisions. Resilient infrastructure is essential to the basic functions of local and regional
economies; for example, when a severe storm closes a major bridge, businesses lose access to employees and customers. When
the pandemic arrived, child care centers were closed and many parents had to leave the workforce to attend to their children’s
education and well-being.
The establishment of resilient business and social infrastructure systems should be understood, documented, and
strengthened to withstand future shocks. Eforts to strengthen infrastructure resiliency overlap and interact with public health,
hazard mitigation, flood control, agricultural sustainability, fire prevention, and other resiliency eforts in any region. This
includes initiatives to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural or human-caused disasters or economic disruptions.
Begin by Establishing Partnerships
As detailed in Chapter 2, the work of economic development ofen comes down to relationships with businesses and other
local partners like the chamber of commerce, downtown associations, and so forth. In building a resilient model for economic
development, relationships are just as important, although the partners may look diferent. Ensuring that there are passable
roads, access to utilities, and appropriate signage is not only the domain of a local Public Works Department; in a disaster,
the public works functions become vital to economic recovery. Because of this link, the relationship between an economic
developer and a local Public Works Department becomes a critical component of resilient economic development practices.
Building this relationship isn’t always an easy task. There is no doubt that public works departments oversee public
infrastructure, and the staf may be understandably hesitant to consider partnering with other departments or agencies
regarding the strategy of their projects. In such cases, it is up to the economic developer to build a collaborative relationship
with public works staf and to demonstrate the mutual benefits of a collaborative relationship. The following is a list of general
steps that can be taken to start the conversation about a collaborative relationship with Public Works Department staf.
22
See https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/attracting-next-generation-physicians-rural-medicine
Infrastructure Systems and Improvements in the Post-Pandemic Era
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