The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #51256

Vanessa Dixon, International Representative, Service Employees International Union, 5019 - 4th St., NW, Washington, DC 20011, 202-726-4479, vmdixon@earthlink.net

When Washington DC's only public hospital, DC General, closed last year, community advocates warned that critical safety net services would be lost. Their words were borne out in the months following September 11, when the anthrax scare in Washington, DC put new demands on the public health system. Ms. Dixon will describe the role that DC General's remaining services played during this crisis, and will provide an overview of the state of health in the nation's capital by discussing the effectiveness of the system that was created to replace the public hospital.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn about the health-care system that was put in place after the closing of the city’s only public hospital, DC General.
• Participants will understand the role that DC General’s remaining services played during the anthrax crisis in Washington DC.
• Participants will understand how the events of September 11 and the subsequent anthrax crisis helped to illuminate the need for a more comprehensive system of public health care in Washington DC.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.