The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #52036

Timothy H. Holtz, MD, MPH¹, Isaac Weisfuse, MD, MPH², B. Mojica³, S. Blank, MD⁴, Marcelle Layton, MD⁵, J. Leighton⁶, K. Kaye⁷, A. Ramon⁸, A. Goldberg⁸, L. May⁹, and L. Moskin⁹. (1) Preventive Medicine Fellow, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New York City Department of Health, 125 Worth St, New York, NY 10013, (2) Associate Commissioner, Bureau of Disease Intervention, New York City Department of Health, 125 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013, 212-788-4711, tholtz@igc.org, (3) Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Disease Intervention, New York City Department of Health, 125 Worth St, New York, NY 10013, (4) Assistant Commissioner, STD Control Program, New York City Department of Health, 125 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013, (5) Assistant Commissioner, Communicable Disease Control Program, New York City Department of Health, 125 Worth St, New York, NY 10013, (6) Assistant Commissioner, Environmental Disease Prevention, New York City Department of Health, 253 Broadway 12th floor Box CN58, New York, NY 10007, (7) Medical Professional Education and Training, New York City Department of Health, 125 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013, (8) New York City Department of Health, 125 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013, (9) School Health Program, New York City Department of Health, 2 Lafayette St., 22nd Flr, New York, NY 10007

Background: On September 11, 2001, two hijacked commercial jets hit both towers of the World Trade Center. Within 90 minutes, both 110-story towers had collapsed. The New York City Department of Health (NYC DOH) quickly activated its Emergency Operations Center, which directed the response to the disaster by using an incident-command structure.

Methods: Descriptive analysis.

Results: Pre-established Emergency Operations Center committees began work within 30 minutes after the attack. DOH staff triaged and treated injured persons at an emergency triage center. In collaboration with the American Red Cross, DOH provided nursing staff for emergency shelters that housed displaced residents. At the disaster site and surrounding community, DOH performed environmental monitoring. DOH regularly broadcasted fax, e-mail alerts, and press releases about urgent public health concerns to local hospitals and physicians. DOH designed and implemented a rescue and recovery worker-safety plan. DOH initiated four disease and injury surveillance systems after the disaster, with assistance from the CDC. Death certificate registration was not interrupted. DOH developed public advisories to address pressing health concerns.

Conclusions: The public health response to mass fatalities and casualties from building collapse was facilitated by the presence of the NYC DOH emergency response plan, with clear lines of communication and an incident-command structure.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this presentation participants will be able to

• Describe the essential components of public health emergency preparedness, including the need for incident command structure;
• Describe the environmental aspects of the pubic health response to disasters;
• Describe the implementation of surveillance after disasters, including syndromic surveillance.

Keywords: Surveillance, Public Health Infrastructure

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.