Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not focused on trauma care after terrorist attacks says Rep. Curt Weldon, co-founder of Homeland Security Caucus and vice chairman of House Armed Services Committee
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not focused on trauma care after terrorist attacks, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a co-founder of the Homeland Security Caucus and vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said on Capitol Hill. Referring to a headline in the premier edition of the monthly magazine HSToday – “The trauma in America’s trauma care” – Weldon stated that “There could not be a truer statement” about the dire state of American emergency care.
WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB via SEO-PR)
May 26, 2004 -– The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not focused on
trauma care after terrorist attacks, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a co-founder of
the Homeland Security Caucus and vice chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee, said on Capitol Hill.
Referring to a headline in the premier
edition of the monthly magazine HSToday – “The trauma in America’s trauma care”
– Weldon stated that “There could not be a truer statement” about the dire state
of American emergency care.
“We are going to focus on this,” vowed
Weldon. “We are going to focus on this until all American media covers this
crisis.”
Rep. Curt Weldon spoke at a press conference on Capitol Hill and
called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pay greater attention to
the situation of trauma care units that are being starved for funds and are
closing down.
“Trauma care,” he said, “is not on the Department of
Homeland Security’s agenda, let alone a priority.” Trauma care centers provide
complete emergency medical attention to the severely injured and have played
critical roles in such incidents as the Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995
and terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11,
2001.
However, between 1988 and 1991 61 regional trauma care centers shut
down and another 120 are in jeopardy due to lack of funding, according to
Weldon.
Anthony Kimery details the entire crisis in the article “The
Trauma in America’s Trauma Care” in the May edition of HSToday, a just-launched
monthly magazine covering homeland security.
Rep. Curt Weldon, in
conjunction with the National Foundation for Trauma Care, said he will be
holding hearings on the crisis and is sending letters to the departments of
Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to get answers to
fundamental questions about the state of national trauma care. He stated that he
would also be sending letters to his congressional colleagues and holding
lobbying days on Capitol Hill to draw attention to the issue.
Weldon
stated that there are three fundamental questions that need to be answered: The
ability of the national trauma care system to surge capacity to care for the
victims of large-scale terrorist attacks; the training capacity of the system to
prepare responders and emergency medical workers; and the availability of
medical personnel to staff trauma centers.
He called on both departments
to conduct studies on these questions and look beyond the threat of chemical and
biological attack and focus as well on the effects of explosive blasts. “It’s
the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security to conduct an
assessment of trauma care,” he stated.
The press conference was held in
conjunction with release of a study, US Trauma Center Crisis: Lost in the
Scramble for Terror Resources produced by the Foundation.
Joining Weldon
was Rep. James Langevin (D-RI) and members of the Foundation including Dr. Samir
Fakhry, chief of trauma care services at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church,
Va., and Greg Bishop, president of the Foundation.
More Information About
the Monthly Magazine
HSToday was launched as a monthly magazine in May 2004.
At a time when strategies are emerging that will shape homeland security for
decades to come, HSToday is the first monthly magazine to provide strategic
insight and analysis into the policy, structure, politics and priorities of the
$100 billion homeland security market.
Information about premium
positions in, charter advertiser discounts for, and value-added programs at
HSToday are available by contacting the magazine’s Associate Publisher, Linda
Andersen, at 978-448-3932 or by e-mail at e-mail protected from spam bots.
Information about custom publishing opportunities targeted at homeland security
policymakers is also available by contacting her. Subscription information is
available on the web at http://www.hstoday.us.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/5/prweb129172.htm