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 Americas trauma care" – Weldon stated that There could not be a truer statement" about the dire state of American emergency care.
WASHINGTON, DC (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 Americas 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 Securitys 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 Americas 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. Its 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 magazines Associate Publisher, Linda Andersen, at 978-448-3932 or by e-mail at landersen@hstoday.us. 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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