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Department
of Health
and Human Services |
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Centers
for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta GA 30333 |
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April 21,
2005
Dear Colleague:
Today, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken
a landmark step in its readiness to confront
the challenges of 21st-century health threats.
I am very pleased to announce that, following
notification by the Health and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt, on April 5, 2005,
the U.S. Congress accepted CDC's new strategic
orientation, including its overarching mission
and restructuring, making it official today.
CDC is also announcing today the selection
of Henry Falk, M.D., as the director of the
Coordinating Center for Environmental Health
and Injury Prevention; Donna F. Stroup, Ph.D.,
as the director of the Coordinating Center
for Health Promotion; and Mitchell L. Cohen,
M.D., as the director of the Coordinating Center
for Infectious Diseases.
When CDC started this
process in 2003, it had been more than a quarter
century since the last modernization effort.
At that time, CDC had 4,000 employees and a
budget of approximately $300 million. Today,
CDC's combined workforce (employees and contractors)
is approximately 15,000 with a budget of approximately
$8 billion.
Results of our modernization
will be apparent as innovations take hold and
add value to our work. I thank each of you,
CDC's partners, for your candid input, your
constant willingness to collaborate amidst
so much uncertainty, and your steadfast support
that has humbled and motivated all of us at
CDC. Our commitment to you is that the "new" CDC
will continue to recognize and respect the
irreplaceable role you play in protecting the
safety and health of Americans. The success
of our health protection network depends on
the strength of its links, and you are one
of the strongest.
We are truly grateful
for your help in this transformation.
We are refocusing our
efforts to address goals that truly have an
impact on people’s health and safety
across their lifespan. We hope you will be
willing to provide input into the action plans
supporting achievement of these goals as they
emerge in the next weeks to months. Our new
structure better aligns CDC to achieve these
goals. Our new coordinating centers will help
CDC's scientists collaborate and innovate across
organizational boundaries, improve efficiency
so that more money can be redirected to science
and programs in our divisions, and improve
the internal services that support and develop
CDC staff. The four new coordinating centers
include the Coordinating Center for Environmental
Health and Injury Prevention, the Coordinating
Center for Health Promotion, the Coordinating
Center for Infectious Diseases, and the Coordinating
Center for Health Information and Services.
In addition, CDC has added two new centers,
the National Center for Public Health Informatics
and the National Center for Health Marketing,
to provide the science we need to create usable
information that people need to make sound
health decisions. We are actively recruiting
leaders to fill CDC’s center director
vacancies, and I am pleased to say that more
than 330 outstanding applicants have already
applied for the 8 positions that are available.
Since CDC began the transformation,
we have:
- Created an Office
of Public Health Practice to help modernize
and strengthen our public health system.
- Created the Division
of Public and Private Partnerships to increase
activities and coordination with partners
in business, healthcare, educational organizations,
federal agencies, faith-based organizations,
and foundations.
- Assigned senior management
officials to several states to pilot an initiative
to improve our support to state health departments.
- Initiated the development
of the first agency-wide research agenda
in the history of CDC.
- Enhanced and expanded
CDC’s Emergency Operations Center to
develop new networks of information transfer
across agencies, jurisdictions, countries,
and professions.
- Redirected more than
660 positions and $83 million to science
and programs.
As important as these
changes are, we are adamant that some things
will not change. Preserving the integrity and
quality of CDC science, maintaining a dedicated,
top-notch workforce, and continuing our tradition
of inclusiveness and respect for others are
core values that we will always emphasize.
We are excited to share
our news about the "new" CDC with
you. We also thank you for your optimism, great
ideas, and incalculable contributions to the
health and safety of all Americans. If you
would like more information about the "new" CDC
and details about new structural components,
please visit www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media.
If you have any questions, please contact Ms.
Lorine Spencer at (404) 639-7153.
Julie Louise Gerberding,
M.D., M.P.H. |