Biopreparedness When thinking about worst-case scenarios, Congress...

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Biopreparedness

When thinking about worst-case scenarios, Congress shouldn't forget

the public health system.

Saturday, May 13, 2006; Page A16

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/12/AR200605120181

4.html

FOR ALL THE talk of pandemic preparedness, hurricane preparedness and

terrorism preparedness, one obvious, fundamental kind of preparedness

has been strangely overlooked -- namely, the preparedness of the

public health system. In part, this is because fixing public health is

almost as difficult as fixing the health system itself: There are

certainly no fewer interest groups involved, including private

hospitals, public emergency rooms, individual doctors' offices and

overburdened emergency room staffs. In part, public health also gets

ignored because it is traditionally a state and local responsibility.

That's for good reason: The nation's hospitals cannot and should not

be micromanaged from Washington. Nevertheless, as the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina showed, Washington has reason to be concerned about

local public health standards and also about the nation's " surge

capacity " -- the speed with which medical personnel can be brought

into an area to help in the event of a disaster.

As it happens, Congress has an opportunity to address these issues.

Debate is well underway on the reauthorization of the bioterrorism

preparedness legislation passed in 2001. A bipartisan group in the

Senate, led by Sen. Burr (R-N.C.) and Sen. M. Kennedy

(D-Mass.), is proposing not only to maintain the current federal level

of spending on public health preparedness but also to ask states to

provide matching funds; to create incentives to attract

better-educated employees to public health (currently, 60 percent lack

bachelor's degrees); to expand the disease surveillance system; and to

integrate the National Disaster Medical System with other parts of the

medical emergency response system.

In theory, everyone -- from the White House to the Senate, where

backers hope to pass the bill by unanimous consent -- supports these

ideas. But because public health doesn't grab headlines (and never

will, except after it fails) there's a danger this issue could get

overlooked. Congress should pass the bill quickly.