2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes: The Public Health and Medical Response

Lister, Sarah A.

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.

关键词: Emergency management;    Medicine;    Health policy;    Emergency medical services;    Public health;   

RP-ID  :  RL33096
RP-ID  :  RL33096_2006Jan20

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

In response to a series of disasters (namely, the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita) and terrorist attacks (namely, the 2001 terror attacks) over the past decade, Congress, the Administration, state and local governments, and the private sector have made investments to improve disaster preparedness and response. New federal authorities and programs to strengthen the nation's public health system were introduced in comprehensive legislation in 2002. Congress also created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002, and a new National Response Plan (NRP) was launched by DHS in December 2004. This report discusses the NRP and its components for public health and medical response, provides information on key response activities carried out by agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and DHS, and discusses certain issues in public health and medical preparedness that have been raised by the response to the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.