Ready for anything: From bioterrorism to environmental hazards

A recent congress brought together leaders from medicine and public health to focus on their intersecting responsibilities in disaster preparedness.

Editorial. Aug. 23/30, 2004.

In this age of superlatives, "exceptional" or "first ever" are words that get thrown around a lot -- often when not entirely warranted. So it is noteworthy when an event occurs that truly deserves such billing.

Such is the case of the First National Congress on Public Health Readiness, a meeting co-convened last month in Washington, D.C., by the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The conference brought together leaders from both medicine and public health to discuss community readiness strategies for terrorism and naturally occurring events. It offered a rare opportunity for these professionals to explore ways to address related and deadly serious health care challenges.

And the meeting was worthy of one more superlative -- it was a resounding success.

Nearly 1,000 professionals attended, evenly representing the two disciplines. The event began with CDC Director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, and AMA President John C. Nelson, MD, MPH, delivering keynote speeches underscoring the importance of the link between clinical and population medicine in ensuring that people in all communities are protected from infectious, environmental and terrorist threats.

Sixteen sessions then followed over the next two days, furthering the discussion of technical issues related to preparedness, work-force training and collaboration between all stakeholders. Experts delivered state-of-the-science lectures about diagnostic methods and therapeutics, among other things.