Post-9/11 Monitoring

To the Editor:

As Chair of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program Steering Committee (a committee that includes union representatives and the medical institutions involved in the program), I would like to respond to some of the issues discussed in your Nov. 23 story, "EMS 9/11 Retiree Win."

The labor representatives on the steering committee have been working with the Fire Department, the other medical institutions in the program, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for several months to provide flexibility for Fire Department retirees to obtain medical monitoring from the other medical providers in the program if they desire to do so. Meanwhile, the Fire Department has been working to provide more convenient access to its monitoring program by establishing medical examination facilities in other locations.

The flexibility for Fire Department retirees to obtain monitoring through other program providers has been delayed by the Federal funding arrangements and the need to ensure that these retirees will continue to receive all of the benefits of this excellent medical program, including the ability to track the health of the participants over time in order to detect any new health problems related to WTC exposures. We expect that the administrative arrangements should be in place some time after the first of the year for retirees wishing to have their examinations at medical programs other than the Fire Department.

I would add that all Fire Department employees are currently able to obtain medical treatment for World Trade Center-related medical conditions at the other medical institutions participating in the program.

I would also note that contrary to what is stated in the article, the provisions of the recently introduced Federal legislation (the James Zadroga Act) are supportive of the ability of Fire Department retirees to obtain their medical monitoring exams through providers other than the Fire Department.

The medical monitoring and treatment program being managed by the Fire Department, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the other participating medical institutions is providing excellent medical care for World Trade Center responders and other WTC workers. Our challenge is to continue to improve the program and to obtain long-term Federal support for this program that is benefiting thousands of our union members.

JAMES MELIUS, M.D. Ph.D. Administrator, NYS Laborers' Health and Safety Trust Fund