Old pleas, new promises: Could aid finally be coming for public health?

After years of dreaming of an infusion of much-needed resources, help for the public health system could be on its way.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Jan. 21, 2002.

Public Health: Renewed Attention
A six-part series exploring the role of the public health system in the context of our nation's newfound state of alert.

1. From the front lines
2. Recent history
3. Greater expectations
4. The risk-benefit ratio
5. New promises
6. Homeland security

Last month, the Thurston County (Wash.) Health Dept. finally moved to a new building. Its previous home, old when the agency moved in in 1974, had long outlived its usefulness. The wiring couldn't handle modern technology. The roof was collapsing. And the building looked like it was falling apart.

"The old building was symbolic of public health system neglect, and people were coming into that building getting a very negative message of the value of public health," said Pat Libbey, director of the Thurston County Health Dept.

Many public health officials around the country still work in buildings like the old one in Thurston County. Those buildings generally need so much work that, if an upgrade were ever approved by local government, it would be cheaper to start from scratch. Offices are cramped. Computers are out of date. Paint is chipping.

Even the venerable Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a leader in public health for the world, is housed in a place that has run out of space. The CDC utilizes numerous rented offices all over Atlanta to make do. Some labs are state of the art while others struggle with outdated equipment and leaky ceilings.

"We have not adequately invested in maintaining the strength of our public health infrastructure," said Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD.

For decades, America's public health system has worn its neglect in plain sight. But it now appears to be getting noticed. In October 2001, the United States, still reeling from disasters in September, woke up to a public health crisis -- anthrax. [...]