FDNY Honors 39 Who Died This Year From 9/11-Related Illnesses; HHS ‘Chaos’ Delays WTC Health Program
Plus, three more victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were recently identified using DNA. The New York City medical examiner's office is still working to identify about 1,100 victims.
Fox5 New York:
24 Years Later, 9/11 Continues To Claim Lives
Today marks 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and the toll from illnesses linked to Ground Zero continues to grow. The FDNY this week added 39 names to its World Trade Center memorial wall in Brooklyn, honoring firefighters who died in the past year from diseases tied to rescue and recovery work after the attacks. (Shivonne, 9/11)
ABC News:
3 Additional 9/11 Victims Have Been Identified, According To The New York City Chief Medical Examiner's Office
Twenty-four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) announced in August three new identifications of World Trade Center victims. Ryan Fitzgerald of Floral Park, N.Y., Barbara Keating of Palm Springs, Calif., and an adult woman whose name is being withheld at the request of her family are the 1,651st, 1,652nd and 1,653rd victims positively identified through DNA analysis, OCME said in their announcement. ... Some 1,100 victims of the 9/11 attacks, representing roughly 40% of those who died that day, remain unidentified, according to OCME. (Katersky, 8/7)
NPR:
Inside The Lab Working To Identify The Remains Of 9/11 Victims
Last month, New York City officials announced they had identified the remains of another three victims who died in the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. It was the latest update to come out of the missing persons unit of the New York City medical examiner's office, which since 2001 has been running the forensic investigation into the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. But the news may have surprised those who didn't know that many 9/11 victims still haven't had any of their remains identified — and that city officials are still trying, 24 years later. (Hernandez, 9/11)
On the World Trade Center Health Program —
NBC News:
Democrats Demand Answers From Kennedy Over Delayed Actions Of 9/11 Health Program
Ahead of the 24th anniversary of 9/11, Democrats are demanding answers from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the future of the federal World Trade Center Health Program, which covers treatment for 9/11-related illnesses such as cancer and chronic coughs. In a letter to Kennedy on Wednesday, obtained exclusively by NBC News, six Democratic senators expressed concern that the program was not abiding by a mandate to evaluate whether additional health conditions should be eligible for the program’s medical coverage. (Bendix, 9/10)
NY1:
HHS 'Chaos' Undermining WTC Health Program, Advocates Warn
Ahead of the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, advocates for victims and first responders warn that “chaos” at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is undermining the World Trade Center Health Program. Since President Donald Trump returned to office earlier this year, advocates say, the administration has shortchanged the health program by firing and then rehiring program staff and other HHS workers and slow-rolling grants for research. The impact, those who work with victims say, is tangible. “Recently, during one of the proposed cuts in which we became collateral damage, we had three members who actually were denied authorization for cancer treatment,” Jim Brosi, president of the NYC Uniformed Fire Officers Association, said. (Frey, 9/9)
Newsday:
Group That Has Advised On Health Issues Since 9/11 No Longer Meets Under Trump Administration
For the past 24 years a panel of doctors, union leaders and advocates met monthly with federal health officials to address the mounting health concerns surrounding 9/11 first responders and survivors. The meetings of the World Trade Center Responder Steering Committee were described by attendees as collaborative and cordial — until they came to an abrupt stop this year. ... The group has been stymied for eight months by a Trump Administration policy that has kept administrators of the federal World Trade Center Health Program from meeting with the group, according to emails reviewed by Newsday. The committee has not met since January and its members, including representatives of New York City’s firefighter and police unions, have not been able to resume long-standing discussions with federal health officials about the tracking of rare diseases cropping up among some 9/11 survivors. (Hernandez, 9/6)
Also —
The Washington Post:
9/11 Survivor Fulfills Childhood Dream Of Becoming Nurse
Jocelyn Brooks had escaped the World Trade Center — through 40 desperate stories of stairs, thick black smoke and dismembered body parts — when she looked toward the clear sky and realized she made it out alive. People trapped inside New York City’s twin towers after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were jumping from windows, trying to flee the greedy flames and instead falling to their deaths. In a clarifying moment, Brooks had two thoughts: She needed to watch her two children become adults, and she needed to pursue her childhood dream of working in medicine. (Melnick, 9/11)
The New York Times:
A New 9/11 Generation: These Children Promise To Never Forget
A generational shift has been taking place at the annual Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony in New York City. Those reading the names will also include children. About one-third of last year’s readers belong to this new generation in the Sept. 11 families, one with no memory of the attacks but increasingly shouldering the responsibility to never forget. (Rosenberg, 9/10)
