The need for resilient health care facilities — via microgrids — on tribal lands is hiding in plain sight, said Thomas Tighe, president and CEO of Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization.

 “A lot of people think about power, but those who think about health don’t think about power,” he said. “Resilient power is a thing of value but the payoff may not seem compelling.”

But if a hurricane takes out power for many months or even years, many people likely will have no access to health care or electricity to power medical devices and refrigerate vaccines and medications. Often the value of resilient power to address these challenges isn’t included in cost-benefit analyses.

“It’s hard not to see its benefit once you’ve seen the consequences,” Tighe said.  

To address the often overlooked need for resilient health care facilities on tribal lands, Direct Relief is providing $10 million in grants for solar and storage microgrids that will serve tribal communities that experience frequent power outages. The grants are being offered through Direct Relief’s Power for Health  initiative, which aims to help ensure the U.S. nonprofit health care safety net is more resilient and better equipped to operate through disaster-caused blackouts.