Healthy Homes Vermont 2019
Many Vermonters in low-income households are at a greater risk of health problems due in part to the buildings in which they live. The nexus between building energy efficiency and better health is now the target for improving housing conditions for vulnerable populations.
The combination of home weatherization-plus-healthy-home repair measures and in-home patient education on energy and self-managed care practices is expected to reduce symptoms and acute exacerbation events for low-income COPD and asthma patients, reduce fall incidence and improve patient quality of life.
Three pilots were designed to test how a collaboration among health care providers, weatherization programs, community service providers, and Efficiency Vermont can deliver an energy-plus-health service approach aimed at improving housing quality, indoor air quality, and customer health. Collectively the pilots are testing innovative energy-plus-health collaborations and whether these models may be scaled to a cost-effective component of energy efficiency programs statewide, and serve as a template for other jurisdictions.