MNSwept.com

Source: vacationlanegrp.wordpress.com --- Sunday, January 29, 2012
In December an important and I believe accurate report on Public Health Preparedness was issued by a nonprofit org. Extracted from CQ article! http://www.healthyamericans.org/assets/files/TFAH2011ReadyorNot_09.pdf ?The Health system?s capacity to deliver treatment to the Public in emergencies such as bioterrorism attacks and pandemics is at risk because of funding cuts to state and local Public Health departments, warned a report issued Tuesday by the Trust for America?s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It added that federally funded programs are eroding as well. The report also calls into question how ready the nation would be in case of natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes. Fifteen states have cut Public Health funds three years in a row. ?The great recession is taking its toll,? said Jeff Levi, executive director of the trust, in a conference call with reporters. Major gains in Preparedness since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax attacks afterward ?are in real jeopardy due to severe budget cuts at the federal, state and local level,? he said.? What I find of great interest is that despite the largest investment by any measure in its Health care system by any nation-state in the world the USA still does not get what it pays for. Why? Much lost to middlemen. The reappearance of H1N1 and other virus should warn all that nature does not grant variances. ...

Source: www.topgrant.net --- Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - To develop emergency-ready Public Health departments by upgrading, integrating and evaluating State and local Public Health jurisdictions Preparedness for and response to terrorism, pandemic influenza, an... ...

Source: www.foodsafetynews.com --- Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Although Preparedness for Public Health emergencies had been on an upward climb in the U.S. over the last decade, some of our most elementary capabilities are experiencing cuts in every state across the country. This includes the ability to identify and contain outbreaks, provide vaccines and medications during emergencies, and treat people during mass traumas. So says the ninth annual, "Ready or Not 2011: Protecting The Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism," issued by Trust for America's Health, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to preventing epidemics to protect people, and Robert Wood Foundation, devoted to improving American's Health and Health care. While this may appear like less oversight and regulatory presence for the food industry and, thus, a blessing in disguise, the overall consequences for the industry are not good. The general finding of the report is that federal and state budget cuts have put Public Health Preparedness at risk. Although the focus is on general Health initiatives, the relevance to Preparedness and response in potential foodborne outbreaks or bioterrorist threats to the food chain can't be ignored. In fact, every one of the report's key findings has such relevance: 1. 51 cities -- in 40 states -- are at risk for elimination of Cities Readiness Initiative funds, which support the ability to rapidly distribute and administer vaccinations and medications during em ...

Source: thegazette.com --- Saturday, January 07, 2012
  By Christopher G. Atchison ?- Recently, the Trust for America?s Health (TFAH) issued a report that warned of a dramatic decline in funding for emergency Preparedness across the nation from fiscal year 2009-10 to fiscal year 2010-11. Iowa alone has seen a 16.2 percent decrease in funding during this time. Jeffrey Levi, the group?s executive director, said this reduction means ?a decade?s worth of progress [is] eroding in front of our eyes.? As someone who has spent 25 years in Public Health practice, I believe Levi is correct, and his warning is ominous. Repeatedly, Public funding for Public Health has tracked with the popular perception of risk. If there is a disease threat, support for Public Health goes up. If the threat appears low, funding goes down. I was in Illinois in 1985 when the region experienced a large Salmonella outbreak. Immediately, funding was found to build a long-sought, new state laboratory so we could better identify such organisms. The TFAH report tells me this cycle of preparation and disregard is repeating itself once again. When the current cycle began 10 years ago, I was in Georgia meeting with Centers for Disease Control officials, for discussions on how schools of Public Health could improve their training programs. When we sat down at 8 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism was still an abstract concept. Unfortunately, by 10 a.m., the abstraction had ended and our focus had fundamentally shifted. The nee ...

Source: twitter.com --- Thursday, December 29, 2011
blueeyepath: Report: Cuts in Federal Funding Put Public Health Preparedness at Risk http://t.co/bTC7knS1 (via @NPRHealth) #publichealth #hcmktg #hcsm ...