Uncle Sam wants you for disaster response team

Federal officials want to re-energize the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and re-establish it as a major player in the public health system.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. Feb. 6, 2006.

Washington -- When it comes to preparing the nation for natural disasters and other public health emergencies, the federal government is looking for a few good physicians.

The Dept. of Health and Human Services recently announced its plan to modernize the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the nation's seven uniformed services. When the transformation is completed, the group of physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals will become a more integral part of the government's emergency response network.

"Our officers treat disease, ensure the safety of food and medicine, and restore health and hope in times of greatest need," said Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH. "Increasing the number of Commissioned Corps officers and restructuring the deployment process will make us more agile and efficient while continuing to fulfill our daily mission."

As a first step, the Bush administration aims to add 600 officers to the current roster of 6,000. The White House also hopes to make the group more efficient by better arranging physicians and other officers according to medical specialty, improving the process that assigns officers to disaster areas and recruiting new members according to medical needs.