Powell Testifies at VA Bioterrorism
Preparedness Hearing
April 12, 2002 - Deborah Powell, M.D., executive dean,
University of Kansas School of Medicine, April 10 testified
at a House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee hearing on
the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) role in bioterrorism
prevention and response. Other witnesses at the hearing included
the VA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
and Stephen Wintermeyer, M.D., associate professor of Clinical
Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. The hearing
addressed two bills: H.R. 3253, the National Medical Emergency
Preparedness Act of 2001, which proposes establishing four
medical emergency preparedness centers, and H.R. 3254, the
Medical Education for National Defense in the 21st Century
Act, which instructs the VA and the Department of Defense
to develop and disseminate sample training programs. Although
no one spoke in opposition to the bills, all the witnesses
agreed that these additional activities needed to be funded
with new money, rather than from the already strained resources
of the VA medical care budget. Both bills are expected to
be marked up prior to the Memorial Day recess.
Dr. Powell's testified in support of both pieces of legislation,
focussing her remarks on the importance of partnerships not
only between medical schools and the VA, but also with other
health professions institutions and organizations. She stressed
the need for easy accessibility of information given the enormous
amounts of information required to diagnose and treat potential
victims of bioterror attacks. Dr. Powell also noted the need
for compatible information systems to allow everyone to share
information. In the question and answer period, Dr. Powell
agreed with Subcommittee Chairman Jim Moran (R-Kan.) that
more needs to be done to educate medical students and residents
about bioterrorism, but that the needed expertise did not
currently exist at many schools, a problem that could begin
to be addressed by this legislation. Dr. Wintermeyer, who
also serves as the Associate Chair of the Indiana University
School of Medicine Task Force on Bioterrorism, testified that
the bills establish "valuable initiatives that work in
synergy to address critically important educational and research
needs in the area of emergency preparedness. This synergy
is leveraged even more through partnering with USUHS and VA-affiliated
medical schools."
Information:
Jonathan Fishburn, Director, Research, Education and Veterans' Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
jfishburn@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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