Increase Public Health Work Force by 100,000 Employees, Public Health Groups Urge Hark...( Congress sho...),Health

Congress should increase federal funding to allow state health departments to hire an additional 100,000 state and local public health employees, the presidents of three national public health organizations said today in a letter to two senators who were holding a hearing on health reform legislation. Citing serious shortages in the public health work force, the heads of Partnership for Prevention, the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM), and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), said their proposal would be consistent with President-elect Obama's recent pledge to invest heavily in the nation's infrastructure.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) December 10, 2008 -- Congress should increase federal funding to allow state health departments to hire an additional 100,000 state and local public health employees, the presidents of three national public health organizations said today in a letter to two senators who were holding a hearing on health reform legislation.

Citing serious shortages in the public health work force, the heads of Partnership for Prevention, the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM), and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), said their proposal would be consistent with President-elect Obama's recent pledge to invest heavily in the nation's infrastructure.

"The public health infrastructure is in dire need of assistance," wrote Partnership Interim Corinne G. Husten, ACPM President Michael D. Parkinson and ASTHO President Judith A. Monroe said in their letter to Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

"These workers not only help to keep America healthy and productive, but they also form our first line of defense whenever health emergencies arise through disease or disasters," they said."We saw ample evidence of that earlier this year during the massive floo
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