Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Treasury Reportedly Withheld $4 Million From Sick 9/11 Responders
New York Daily News: Feds Secretly Withheld $4M From FDNY 9/11 Health Program
The Trump administration has secretly siphoned nearly $4 million away from a program that tracks and treats FDNY firefighters and medics suffering from 9/11 related illnesses, the Daily News has learned. The Treasury Department mysteriously started withholding parts of payments — nearly four years ago — meant to cover medical services for firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics treated by the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program, documents obtained by The News reveal. (McAuliff, 9/10)
In related news about 9/11 survivors —
Newsweek: Why The 9/11 Death Toll Is Still Rising Today
The death toll from the tragedy continues to rise to this day as those who worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attack succumb to related illnesses. According to information supplied to Newsweek by the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3,946 members of the World Trade Center Health Program, which supports first responders and survivors on-site during and after the 9/11 attacks, have died. (Waterfield, 9/11)
Newsday: Amid Pandemic, 9/11 First Responders Face A Somber Anniversary
It remains unclear how the Sept. 11 Victims Compensation Fund, which provides financial assistance to those exposed to the pollutants emanating from the sites in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, will view the case of first responders with underlying WTC medical conditions who later died of COVID-19. ... A high percentage of the 9/11 health conditions are respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD and interstitial lung disease. COVID-19 attacks that same organ, saving its most deadly consequences for victims with weakened immune systems, such as those going through chemotherapy, medical officials say. (Brodsky, 9/8)
New York Post: 9/11 Ground Zero Responders Suffer Early Dementia Risk: Researchers
The Sept. 11 terror attack didn’t just sicken first responders who desperately searched for victims at Ground Zero — it also appears to be robbing them of their mental faculties, disturbing new research shows. A study conducted by Stony Brook University has found that people who worked amid the rubble of the Twin Towers are suffering cognitive decline far earlier than normal. “It’s two to three times more likely that 9/11 responders are likely to have mild cognitive impairment — a precondition of dementia — than the general population that is ten to twenty years older,” said chief researcher Dr. Sean Clouston. (Campanile, 9/10)
USA Today Network: Ohio State Studying Effects Of WTC Dust On 9/11 First Responders
Nineteen years later, the dust still hasn’t settled on the full impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on first responders at the World Trade Center. That’s why a researcher at Ohio State University’s College of Nursing is studying the impact of the dust from the World Trade Center’s collapse on first responders to see if there is a link to heart disease, early onset Alzheimer’s and Parkinson diseases. (Henry, 9/11)
CNN: A Landfill In Their Backyard
The closure of one of the world’s largest landfills, Fresh Kills, in March 2001 was a victory for residents on New York City’s Staten Island, who complained about the waste site for years. But that victory was diminished when, after the September 11th attacks, then-Governor George Pataki reopened Fresh Kills and workers transported more than 1.8 million tons of debris, some of it found to be toxic, from Ground Zero to the landfill. Nineteen years later, some Staten Islanders fear the inactive landfill and its contents — including the 9/11 debris — is contributing to cancer rates in the borough. “I know way too many people with cancer on Staten Island,” said Jamielee Nelson, who recalled standing on her balcony in Staten Island’s Rossville neighborhood after 9/11 and watching smoke rising from Ground Zero. (Chapman, 9/11)
And COVID-19 takes its toll —
The City: How Many 9/11 Survivors Have Died Of COVID-19? At Least 42, And Likely Many More
Michael Field arrived at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. The FDNY emergency medical technician wound up working at Ground Zero for nine months. He later suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary issues — conditions that his wife, Stacey Field, attributed to his work digging through the rubble as the rescue operation quickly turned to a long-term recovery effort. While Field, who lived in Valley Stream on Long Island, fought his illnesses after serving at Ground Zero, 19 years later COVID-19 got the best of him. He died on April 8 at the age of 59. ... He’s far from the only 9/11 first responder or survivor taken by the pandemic. Officially, 42 have died of COVID-19, according to the World Trade Center Health Program. (Rodriguez and Muylaert, 9/10)
NPR: A Father And A Son, Lost To 2 National Tragedies
Albert Petrocelli died from COVID-19 in April, at 73 years old. His death marked the second time the Petrocelli family was touched by unexpected tragedy. Nearly two decades earlier, Petrocelli, a retired New York City fire chief, and his wife, Ginger, lost their youngest of two sons, Mark, in the attacks on the World Trade Center. (Garofalo, 9/11)
ABC News: 'Nothing Scares Me': For 9/11 Responder, COVID Was The Hardest Battle Yet
For the last 19 years, Sept. 11 has cast a lingering shadow on John Feal. The Nesconset, New York resident and former construction worker suffered long-term health damage from working at Ground Zero and endured the emotional pain of seeing his fellow responders die from ailments contracted at the pile. Feal told ABC News that despite all of those hardships, one of the biggest challenges he's had to face was COVID-19, which he contracted in March. (Pereira, 9/11)
