Patients Couldn’t Pay Their Utility Bills. One Hospital Turned to Solar Power for Help.

By Martha Bebinger, WBUR | KFF Health News | Special to the OBSERVERThe solar array on the rooftop of the Boston Medical Center administration building provides power for the building as well as credits for the facility’s Clean Power Prescription program.& (Jesse Costa/WBUR)(KFF) – Anna Goldman, a primary care physician at Boston Medical Center, got tired of hearing that her patients couldn’t afford the electricity needed to run breathing assistance machines, recharge wheelchairs, turn on air conditioning, or keep their refrigerators plugged in. So she worked with her hospital on a solution.The result is a pilot effort called the Clean Power Prescription program. The initiative aims to help keep the lights on for roughly 80 patients with complex, chronic medical needs.The program relies on 519 solar panels installed on the roof of one of the hospital’s office buildings. Half the energy generated by the panels helps power the medical center. The rest goes to patients who receive a monthly credit of about $50 on their utility bills.Kiki Polk was among the first recipients. She has a history of Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.On a warm fall day, Polk, who was nine months pregnant at the time, leaned into...