DAY SIXTY-SIX:Nov. 15:
I cannot say much first hand about New York today as I was in Philadelphia, addressing the Pennsylvania Public Health Association. Some 300 earnest, hard-working folks, the front line in public health, were there and I was their luncheon speaker. They spoke to me of long hours spent battling anthrax calls, planning bioterrorism responses and praying for better-funded futures. A gentleman from Merck spoke to me at length about their smallpox vaccine negotiations with HHS. Another gentleman, who heads of that region's HHS activities, said that his personnel have been stretched so thin since September 11 that had there been a hurricane this season the entire public health response capacity would have collapsed.Nationwide there are 26 regional emergency response leaders for HHS: every one of them was in either DC, NY or Florida this fall. If there had been an earthquake in California, a hurricane in Texas, a plane crash in the Rockies -- any additional catastrophe -- they would have been unable to coordinate responses.
That's how thin the public health infrastructure really is.
Amazingly, some politicians on Capitol Hill seem to have finally appreciated the severity of our nation's public health problem. Today Republican Sen. Bill Frist and Democrat Ted Kennedy introduced a bipartisan Public Health Emergency Preparedness Act that DOUBLES the administration's request, allotting a whopping $3.2 billion to public health. If this passes a Senate vote in coming days it will be up to the House to accept or reject the spending. A tough battle is ahead for the bill, particularly in the Republican-controlled House, but the fact that this proposal already has bipartisan support in the Senate is cause for optimism.
If the budget passes, the onus will shift to localities and states. They will have to demonstrate their needs, find people to hire and swiftly grab while the grabbing I good. It will be an interesting test of their political skills.
On returning home this evening a waft of Ground Zero air passed beneath my nostrils, reminding me - in case for a second I had forgotten - that the massive debris pile is still on fire. It's stunning, really. I find myself wondering what is feeding that inferno and just how much longer millions of tons of debris will smolder.
A good friend recently visited Ground Zero, driving in from out of town. He E-mailed a few quick impressions:
Saw Ground Zero last Friday evening. Shoulda done it in the daytime. Didn't get the closure I thought I would. Couldn't get close enough. We did see Century 21 and the Millenium Hilton where we stayed last Feb - and the skeleton of the Borders across the street...and we cried a little. And I did nearly drive off the NJ Turnpike when I first caught the skyline. I had to force myself not to look, even at the Empire State Building, as I drove.
My day starts at dawn tomorrow. It's time to hit the hay.
Be well. Stay safe. Stand defiant.
Laurie Garrett
