Ready Or Not?

Book excerpt: The severe budget cuts by fed., state, and local governments are leaving public health (PH) departments understaffed and without the basic capabilities required to respond to crises. Nearly 10 years ago during the 9/11 and anthrax tragedies, it became clear the PH system was out-of-date to face modern health threats -- and an historic investment was made to help upgrade the system. Significant progress was made to improve how we prevent, identify, and contain new disease outbreaks and bioterrorism threats and respond to the aftermath of natural disasters. Now, the economic situation is putting almost a decade of gains at risk. The latest budget cuts will exacerbate the vulnerable areas in U.S. emergency health preparedness. A print on demand report.