The 2009 Report on 9/11 Health reviews WTC victims health status

This week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released the annual medical research review of potential health impacts of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The 2009 Annual Report on 9/11 Health includes a review of 48 recent studies analyzed by the city’s World Trade Center (WTC) Medical Working Group.

The report is one of the recommendations made by the WTC Medical Working Group, a consortium of 9/11 health experts from science, medicine, and government, which gathered to produce the 2007 report Addressing the Health Impacts of 9/11. The group is co-chaired by Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs and Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, MD, MPH.

For the first time, the 2009 report contains a WTC Patient Population Report for Fiscal Year 2009, which ended June 30th. It shows that 15,688 people -- including rescue, recovery, and clean-up workers; members of the Lower Manhattan community; and other WTC-exposed New Yorkers -- received publicly funded treatment for WTC-related health conditions through city health centers, as well as through the city’s 9/11 Benefit Program for Mental Health and Substance Use Services.

The report shows that 19,760 rescue, recovery, and clean-up workers were screened or monitored in fiscal year 2009, bringing the total number of WTC responders and workers screened by FDNY and the Mount Sinai Consortium to 42,410. The report also addresses enrollment in the Health Department’s WTC Health Registry, and analyses of patients who reported symptoms indicative of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The WTC Medical Working Group team of clinicians, epidemiologists, and researchers also continue to investigate the potential relationship between WTC exposure and longer-term illnesses.

“We have to stay on top of the latest science to best help those whose health has suffered as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,” said Mayor Bloomberg, who has advocated for federal funding to help monitor and treat 9/11 victims. “Eight years after the attack we continue to learn more about how people were injured, both physically and emotionally. We will keep taking care of those who have gotten sick and also keep fighting for a sustained stream of federal support for critically important 9/11 health programs.”

New Yorkers interested in the program should visit the website of the WTC Environmental Health Center, go to www.nyc.gov, or call 311 for help.

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