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1993.08.10 :  HHS Flood Aid for the Midwest

Contact:  Press Office (202) 690-6867
August 10, 1993

     HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala announced today that the Department of
Health and Human Services will provide $75 million in flood aid for the
Midwest, and she repeated the HHS commitment to respond quickly to health
and social service needs in the affected areas.
     "I have directed each operating division of HHS to pitch in and help the
victims of this unparalleled disaster," Secretary Shalala said.  "Agencies of the
U.S. Public Health Service and other HHS components are working closely with
the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure a coordinated response
in the flood-impacted areas."
     HHS assistance ranges from water safety, sanitation, disease prevention
and first aid to mental health services, support for the elderly, and
reassurance for children affected by the flood.
     "Flooding of this magnitude hasn't occurred in this country for 100 years
and HHS is doing everything possible to help flood victims stay healthy and
free of injury and to deal effectively with the emotional impact of the disaster."
     The $75 million is part of a flood package approved by Congress, which
provides a total of $6.3 billion in budgetary resources.  The HHS share will
provide for a Public Health/Social Services Emergency Fund.  This fund will
support a variety of activities, including:
ù Support for the 24 Community and Migrant Health Centers located in the
flood affected area;
ù Repair to rural water systems on affected Indian reservations;
ù Response assistance and technical support for emerging health threats;
ù Counseling and other mental health substance abuse services;
ù Increased support for needed social services through the Community
Services Block Grant and Social Services Block Grant.
    In addition, HHS' Administration on Aging has provided $500,000 to
states.  The AoA funding may be used for a variety of purposes, including
reimbursement of area agencies on aging that have opened the doors of their
congregate meal centers to all flood victims.
     The department's overall emergency response and recovery is being
coordinated in Washington by the Office of Emergency Preparedness in the
U.S. Public Health Service, one of the four operating divisions of HHS.  PHS
regional health administrators are the principal operating agents for the
department in the flood areas.
     In addition to the funding announced today, other HHS assistance has
been available in the flood area for more than a month:
     o DISEASE PREVENTION.  Expertise in sanitation, engineering and
entomology has been made available to supplement current state disease
prevention activities.  More than 80,000 syringes have been distributed for
administering inoculations against tetanus.
     o MENTAL HEALTH.  PHS' Center for Mental Health Services has been
working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the
extent of crisis counseling assistance needed by the six affected states, with
particular attention being paid to the needs of children, the elderly and
emergency workers.  Funds are available for crisis counseling grants for up to
a one-year period.
     o EMERGENCY MEDICAL TEAMS.  Six PHS disaster emergency medical
teams are on standby, ready to provide first aid, inoculations and general
medical care when local facilities are damaged or destroyed.  Members of the
emergency medical teams also are trained to counsel victims in disaster areas
to help them cope with stress.
     In addition, primary health care providers are being assigned to provide
services in federally funded community health centers in affected areas.
     STATE CONSULTATION.  PHS teams are meeting regularly with state
officials to assess overall needs including sanitation, infectious disease
surveillance, injury prevention, insect control, primary health care, mental
health and food and water safety.  So far, teams have been convened in
Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.  A technical assistance team --
sanitation, environmental health, disease surveillance and prevention health
experts -- is operating in Iowa and such teams will be assembled in other
areas.
     o PUBLIC AFFAIRS.  HHS has produced several public service
announcements featuring Secretary Shalala on the dangers of drinking
possibly contaminated flood water.  These announcements have been widely
disseminated to media outlets in the affected areas.  PHS also has regularly
issued health advisory press releases, and publications, including a CDC
pamphlet, titled, "Beyond the Flood."
     Philip R. Lee, M.D., assistant secretary for health and head of PHS, said a
number of PHS agencies are involved in this effort, including the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health
Resources and Services Administration, the Indian-Health Service and the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
     Currently there are some 50 PHS personnel deployed in various locations in
disaster field offices and at emergency coordinating centers.  Other PHS
employees are working in various administrative and support capacities in the
affected states as well as in the Office of Emergency Preparedness central
coordinating office.  OEP headquarters tracks the public health, primary care
and mental health conditions in the flood areas around the clock.
     Other HHS agencies supporting the effort include the Administration for
Children and Families, the Social Security Administration and the Health Care
Financing Administration.