WTC Health "Czar" Reports on Treatment and Study Initiatives

By Nick Pinto
POSTED OCTOBER 15, 2007

New York City is making progress in addressing the long-term health consequences of Sept. 11, according to the city’s newly appointed World Trade Center Health Coordinator.

Jeffrey Hon, who was hired to the position in June, told members of Community Board 1’s World Trade Center Committee earlier this month that the city has undertaken a number of initiatives to address the needs identified in a February report on 9/11-related health issues.

In addition to hiring Hon, the city has also created a World Trade Center Medical Working Group, co-chaired by Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden.

Since taking on the position, Hon said he has been focused on rolling out a new “one-stop shopping” Web site to offer comprehensive information about Sept.-11-related health issues. The Web site, www.nyc.gov/9-11healthinfo, includes links to research, resources, and related legislation.

The report issued in February also called for the expansion of the city’s Bellevue Hospital treatment program. In September Bloomberg announced that the city will contribute $46 million over five years to sustain and expand the Bellevue program, allowing it to treat more people and to bring a pediatrician onto the staff for the first time.

The city is also pursuing further research to better understand the scope of the health consequences of Sept. 11, Hon said.

The Health Department has already published two reports based on the federal World Trade Center Health Registry survey. One study found that the use of masks by first responders offered moderate protection, and another determined that those who did not have previous exposure to trauma were at higher risk of suffering psychological consequences from their experiences around Sept. 11.

City researchers are also wrapping up a second health survey of Downtown residents, workers and first responders in the health registry, which should provide more current information. So far more than 40,000 people – roughly 60 percent of those in the health registry, have completed the survey.

Several other studies are also in the works, Hon said: one investigating the respiratory and psychological health of more than 3,000 children who were downtown in 2001, and another examining post-traumatic stress disorder among downtown residents.

Lobbying for federal legislation to increase aid has been one of the city’s priorities, Hon said. Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials have testified on Capitol Hill in favor of increased funding, and legislation is working its way through Congress. A bill in the Senate would allocate $50 to $55 million for World Trade Center health programs, and would, for the first time, cover Downtown residents as well as first responders. A different bill being considered in the House is named after James Zadroga, a NYPD detective who died from his exposure to toxic dust and fumes after Sept. 11.

 “The Zadroga bill currently has 53 sponsors, including all of New York’s representatives, Hon said. “But it still has a long way to go until it is made into law.”

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