Irwin Redlener, president of the Children's Health Fund, professor of pediatrics and director of pediatrics, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, and author of the forthcoming The Future of Us: What the Dreams of Children Mean for Twenty-First Century America (Columbia University Press, 2017), talks about how individuals and governments prepare for Hurricane Irma.
A Founder of the Children’s Health Fund Packs Up His Doctor’s Bag
In 1986, as New York City reeled from a crack epidemic and runaway violence, Paul Simon, the musician, and Irwin Redlener, a doctor, paid a visit to one of the city’s notorious welfare hotels, the Martinique in Midtown Manhattan.
The two had been working together to raise money and awareness for children in Africa, as part of the “We Are the World” campaign, when it occurred to Mr. Simon that perhaps they could also address urgent needs closer to home.
Kids in Crosshairs as House Votes to Repeal and Replace Obamacare
Some 35 million would have their access to quality health care threatened if the American Health Care Act passes the Senate and becomes law.
For the past two decades, steady progress has been made in ensuring access to affordable health care for all children. The Child Health Insurance Program, passed in 1997, provides affordable coverage for children in low-income families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to afford private coverage. The Affordable Care Act—“Obamacare”—passed in 2010 expanded coverage to millions of children who are poor or near poor.
Acts of terrorism and mass violence targeting schools : Analysis and implications for preparedness in the USA
To enhance the preparedness of US schools to acts of terrorism and mass violence, the landscape of threats against schools must first be understood. This includes exploring the global trends of acts of terrorism against schools, as well as looking specifically at the history of terrorism and acts of mass violence against schools domestically. This paper conducts a review of two databases in order to look at the trends in acts of terrorism and mass violence carried out against schools, and provides recommendations for domestic school preparedness based on this information.
Lousiana Awaits Help as Media Moves On
Covering Recovery: The Challenges of Preparing for Major Disasters
The seemingly increased prevalence of catastrophic events, from natural disasters, biological threats, large-scale industrial accidents to infrastructure failure and terrorism, has created many challenges for journalists. Beyond the obvious stories focused on the immediate drama of a massive storm, the threat of Zika virus or the fatalities of a mass shooting, there are deeper issues that need to be explored by the press.These are the investigative reports that will help policy makers and the public understand critical underlying factors, clarifying what happened and what should be done in the future.
Domestic terror and the race for the White House
Over the past year we have seen acts of terror perpetrated by individuals in Orlando and San Bernardino inspired by ISIS. We have also seen more coordinated teams of attackers in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere. These attacks strike to the heart of communities, and have rekindled concerns among the American public about the threat of terrorism. The timing of the latest attacks is also affecting the intensifying U.S. presidential race.
National investment, leadership needed for school preparedness
Recently the GAO released a report examining the state of emergency preparedness in k-12 schools. The conclusions in this report are alarming, as it uncovers a lack of strategic coordination among federal agencies for preparing schools for emergencies. It also finds a lack of clear leadership at the federal level for coordinating these activities, and schools are left having to choose between preparedness and core educational activities.
Children and The Global Migration Crisis
Today, half of the 60 million people displaced worldwide are children—the greatest number of total displaced people since World War II and the greatest percentage who are children in over a decade. Despite a harsh winter, the first months of 2016 have seen record number of refugees arriving in Europe. For the first time since European refugee crisis began, the number of women and children exceed males. In the aftermath of terrorism in Paris and San Bernardino, this period has also been marked by tightened border control measures in many countries, limiting legal pathways to asylum and family reunification.
Zika virus: Why emergency funding is necessary, and why it shouldn’t be
Earlier this month the president outlined a request for $1.8 billion to prepare for and respond to the emergence of Zika virus at home and abroad. This request includes funding for vaccine development, targeted efforts to control the mosquito populations, the development of training and communications programs, and efforts to contain its spread internationally. This request should be funded. Not because it is the best way to combat emerging infectious diseases, but because we have painted ourselves into a corner with shortsighted preparedness investments, and this is the only option available to reduce further harm.
We need to resettle the children of Flint
As a pediatrician — and grandfather — I ask myself: What would I do if I had family members raising kids in Flint, Mich., right now?
The answer is anything in my power to get them out of that toxic, distressed and struggling city. And if that’s the right answer on a personal basis, it offers a critical insight into what has to be considered on a general policy level for the health and well-being of a community where water for drinking and bathing has been contaminated with lead for almost two years.
How the World is Failing a Generation of Lost Kids
Try wrapping your mind around some numbers just coming to light from reports issued by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) last week:
Nearly 2.5 million Syrian children are being kept from school because of the raging violence that has driven many families from their communities, destroyed some 5,000 schools, and seen the loss of more than 50,000 teachers who have been killed, threatened, or left Syria. It’s worth noting that prior to the disastrous and still raging civil war, the Syrian educational system was doing well, with universal education and high literacy rates. Forget all that. The persistent violence has caused many children to lose years of educational opportunity.
Climate Change and Health on the U.S. Gulf Coast: Public Health Adaptation is Needed to Address Future Risks
The impacts of climate change on human health have been documented globally and in the United States. Numerous studies project greater morbidity and mortality as a result of extreme weather events and other climate-sensitive hazards. Public health impacts on the U.S. Gulf Coast may be severe as the region is expected to experience increases in extreme temperatures, sea level rise, and possibly fewer but more intense hurricanes.
Can Living With Long-Term Drought Cause Trauma?
Dr. Irwin Redlener spends a lot of time thinking about what can go wrong. For decades, he has advised governments about how to handle the public health consequences of hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, earthquakes, and the like. That’s because, as director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, analyzing all the various catastrophes that can befall human beings—as well as figuring out strategies for preparing to withstand disaster and recovering when the worst happens—is, quite simply, his job.
DC's Metro Calamity: A Lesson in Preparation and Response
Earlier this year, members of Congress voiced their frustration during a recent House Oversight Committee hearing, blasting the subway system of our nation’s capital for an event deemed “entirely predictable” and a major sign of “weakness.” What were they referring to? On Jan. 12, smoke filled the DC Metro tracks, stranding passengers, sending dozens to the hospital and killing Carol Glover, a 61-year-old mother and grandmother. DC Metro’s biggest disaster since a 2009 collision that left nine dead, revelations about the minute-by-minute handling of the incident by first responders have raised serious questions about DC’s ability to respond to an even greater, more catastrophic event.
Ebola highlights public health crisis
The death of Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan, who succumbed to Ebola in a Dallas hospital, is of course tragic. But the extraordinarily poor way his case appears to have been handled may also inadvertently have done the United States an enormous service -- not just in shining a light on the threat posed by this virus but also by revealing the profound problems both in our health care delivery system and the public health programs supposed to help prevent outbreaks, track contacts and control the spread of disease.