 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Lloyd F. Novick, MD, MPH, Onondaga County Health Department, Onondaga County Health Department, 421 Montgomery St, Civic Center, 9th Floor, Syracuse, NY 13202, 315-435-3155, hllnovi@health.ongov.net
Local health departments are the frontline defense in recognizing biological, chemical and radiological terrorist activities. These agencies are responsible for surveillance and leading community-wide responses including administration of prophylactic medication and smallpox vaccination. The role of the public health agency in bioterrorism response has been recognized by President Bush and Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. However, while limited federal funding has been made available to public health agencies, local health departments are now being forced to divert staff and resources from other public health functions for bioterrorism preparedness activities. The Onondaga County Health Department (Syracuse, NY) incurred large expenditures in addressing multiple community concerns about possible anthrax threats in the fall of 2001. More recently, in early 2003, smallpox vaccination became a health department priority. Vaccinating individuals for smallpox required education, screening and follow-up for volunteers from the local health department and five area hospitals. To meet this need, staff were reassigned from other vital functions including TB and communicable disease control, maternal and child health home visiting and cancer screening. Concomitantly, large state and local budget deficits are resulting in funding reductions to local public health agencies that exacerbate this problem. Proposed budget reductions in New York State far outstrip any federal resources provided to local health departments for bioterrorism preparedness. Unless policymakers address this resource issue, public safety and bioterrorism preparedness will be compromised as will the capacity to provide essential public health services at the local level.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Bioterrorism, Community-Based Public Health
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.