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Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) NEWS
9/26/01 HHS
Announces $126M in Relief Funds For Health Services
Public Health System Needs to Stem Possible Biological Attacks The nation's public health system, once a "world-class early warning system" for detecting emerging epidemics, has fallen into disrepair over the past few decades and must be restored in the face of a potential biological attack, the Washington Post reports. The deterioration of the system-centered around community hospitals and closely linked public health laboratories-is due in part to a shift away from public health toward privatized medicine and managed care. The Post reports that until a few decades ago, public hospitals and labs gathered large amounts of data beyond those needed for patient care that allowed them to track disease trends. But now, most labs and hospitals only perform tests that are covered by health insurance, while legislators have repeatedly cut spending on public health (Weiss/Nakashima, 9/22). To compensate, the CDC has built up a nationwide network of 81 labs over the past few years to "be a shield of diagnostic expertise against germ weapons" (Chase, Wall Street Journal, 9/24). And in 1998, President Clinton ordered the stockpiling of enough vaccines and antibiotics to treat massive numbers of civilians in the wake of a biological attack. However, public health experts say the country is still tens of millions of vaccine doses short, and most of the stockpile would be unavailable to much of the country if air traffic were again curtailed. Moreover, hospitals, which have significantly reduced inpatient capacity over the past few decades, are unprepared to treat large numbers of critically ill patients. A recent survey of 186 hospitals in the Northwest found that less than 20% had plans in place for a biochemical emergency and less than two-thirds had enough drugs in stock to treat 50 cases of anthrax. Response
to Sept. 11 attacks 'haphazard' HHS Announces $126M in Relief Funds For Health Services On Friday, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced the provision of over $126 million to fund support services in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Part of a $5.1 billion disaster-relief package announced last week by President Bush, the HHS funds will be used to help New York City health care facilities offset the extraordinary costs of responding to the health care needs of the disaster; provide support for populations with special needs and long-term mental health services; and fund community health centers. The funding, made available through the HHS Public Health and Social Services Fund, includes: $55 million for health care services, including $35 million for emergency grants to disaster-affected providers, especially hospitals. An additional $10 million will go to community health centers to provide care for the uninsured. The final $10 million will assure ongoing operation of Medicare reimbursement in New York. $28 million for mental health services, including $21.2 million to assist mental health systems already in place. An additional $6.8 million will fund crisis mental health services. $25 million for social services, including $23.7 million in grants to states affected in the disasters to care for people with special needs, including children, families and people with disabilities. The remaining $1.3 million will be administered through the Administration on Aging to assist the elderly and the homebound. $10.4 million will fund environmental hazard control, including $5 million to provide for the safety of the emergency workers on the scene and $5.4 million in technical assistance for hazardous environmental exposure and needs of asthmatics. $7.75 million will fund security and other activities. Of that amount, $4.5 million will go to HHS agencies to improve security of key research facilities and medical materials. The other $3 million is designated for emergency response resources
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