Remarks as prepared; not a transcript. RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H Acting Surgeon General U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
52nd International Respiratory Congress
Saturday, November 11, 2006 52nd International Respiratory Congress
"52nd International Respiratory Congress" Opening and Acknowledgements Good morning. Thank you, Sam, for that gracious introduction. [Sam Giordano, Executive Director, American Association for Respiratory Care] Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to be here today. It is an honor to be here. I am always delighted to spend time with fellow health professionals who dedicate their lives to serving others. And I am especially grateful to have the opportunity to be here with you at this very important International Respiratory Care Congress. My bosses, Department of Heath and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral John Agwunobi, both asked me to bring you their best wishes. They're very grateful for your work on behalf of all Americans, and for the strong collaborations that A-A-R-C has developed with our Department. We know that for many of you respiratory therapy is a calling. It is a calling: - to heal,
- to provide comfort,
and - to protect the health and well-being of the American people.
Because of you, millions of Americans at the dawn of life and across the spectrum to the end of life can breathe easier. I have tremendous respect for the work you do every day. Priorities I am very impressed by the agenda that the American Association for Respiratory Care has set for the next few days. Many of the topics you will be addressing during this conference intersect with the priorities that President Bush has assigned to the Office of the Surgeon General. I want to take a few moments to tell you about those priorities. - Out first priority is Prevention. - What each of us can do in our own lives and communities to make ourselves and our families healthier.
- The second priority is Public Health Preparedness.
- The third priority we're focusing on relentlessly is Eliminating Health Disparities.
It is unacceptable that in our great nation, with our global leadership in science and medicine, we still have major disparities in health and health care delivery. Prevention Now, let's look at Priority #1: Prevention. Prevention is the cornerstone of everything that we do at H-H-S. It is a priority for us because of the fact that each year millions of Americans die from preventable causes. These deaths, as well as the health care costs related to caring for our fellow Americans who are suffering from completely preventable diseases, are causing tremendous strains on our way of life. Most health care costs are focused on treating chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and asthma. Let's do the math: These numbers add up to the fact that nearly half a trillion dollars are spent on diabetes, heart disease, and asthma each year in our nation. And when you follow the money trail, you will see that it is heavily weighted toward treatment and end-of-life care. Too little is spent on preventing these conditions. Right now we've got it backwards. We live in a treatment-oriented society. We need to change to a prevention-oriented society. We wait years and years, doing nothing about unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical activity, until people get sick. Then we spend lots of money on costly treatments to try to make people well, often when it is already too late. We need to refocus our efforts on preventing disease, illness, and injury. The good news is that most of the illness, suffering, disability, death, and resulting economic and human costs can be entirely prevented by effective public health programs. Five key steps can prevent most chronic diseases: - Tobacco control,
- Good nutrition,
- Physical activity,
- Maintenance of a healthy weight,
and - Regular health screenings.
And we have evidence-based strategies to address each and every one of these factors. By and large, we know what to do to act now. The challenge is to elevate public health as a discipline, as a profession, and as a cause for our focused attention and advocacy - to move our research and knowledge into action. Health Literacy Health literacy is a major factor in our ability to translate the best science and research we have into daily practice. Health literacy is the ability of an individual to access, understand, and use health-related information and services to make appropriate health decisions. The reality is that we are largely a health-illiterate society. - More than 90 million Americans don't know how to take care of their own health, or how to prevent disease.
- Low health literacy is a threat to the health and well-being of Americans.
- Low health literacy impacts all sectors of our society: People of all ages, races, incomes, and education levels are challenged by it.
For the past three years, I've been working with colleagues throughout the nation to improve Americans' health literacy. By improving health literacy, we can save lives. This year, we held the first-ever "Surgeon General's Workshop on Improving Health Literacy." The more people know about health, the better they can take care of themselves, their friends, their families, and their communities. Basic health literacy is fundamental to the success of each interaction between health care professionals and patients - every prescription, every treatment, and every recovery. It is a concern not only for those we serve, but also for those of us who work in the health care system. It's critically important that we transfer health discoveries from researchers to practicing professionals to the general public as quickly as possible. On average, medical technology and advances languish for 15 to 18 years before coming into practice. We all know that means lives lost and pain suffered - needlessly. We can start correcting this problem by improving our nation's health literacy and incorporating health education into everything that we do. Every day, health care professionals are witnessing the health literacy gap…the chasm of knowledge between what professionals know and what patients understand. We have to make sure that good health information is getting into the hands of the people who need it. From researchers…to practitioners… to patients…we all have a role to play. But the challenge is getting the best available science into the hands of the American people in ways that they can understand and use. I know that many of you witness low health literacy in action. You see patients every day who are struggling to breathe… and in many cases their condition could have been prevented. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease One condition that we are addressing as a nation - that many of you are addressing every day - is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As you know, C-O-P-D is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. It is a serious lung disease that takes away the breath of 12 million Americans. And it is estimated that there are another 12 million Americans suffering from C-O-P-D who are undiagnosed …. and therefore not receiving any treatment. As America's population ages, the number of individuals affected by C-O-P-D is on the rise. The good news is that C-O-P-D is largely preventable. Most cases of C-O-P-D are the result of smoking or long-term exposure to dust or fumes. I want to thank you for helping to manage C-O-P-D patients' symptoms, lower the rate of serious complications, and improve quality of life. Respiratory professionals administer medications such as bronchodilators and inhaled steroids to help open airways. You also help encourage and provide supportive and preventive measures, such as flu shots and pneumonia vaccine, exercise rehabilitation, prompt treatment of respiratory infections, and smoking cessation. H-H-S is taking a similar approach on a national level. We are continuing our efforts to help treat the millions of American's with C-O-P-D, while ramping up our efforts to prevent C-O-P-D and advance stages of the disease. Just last month the H-H-S National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched the largest randomized clinical trial ever to study the effectiveness and safety of long-term, home oxygen therapy for C-O-P-D. Although oxygen therapy has been shown to improve survival in patients with severe C-O-P-D, the effects of treatment have not been adequately studied in patients with less severe C-O-P-D disease. We need to know more about how to prevent C-O-P-D from becoming severe. This understanding of secondary prevention will improve the lives of millions of Americans. The six-year, $28 million Long-term Oxygen Treatment Trial will engage researchers at 14 clinical centers across the United States to study 3,500 patients with moderate C-O-P-D. The trial will determine whether supplemental oxygen can help C-O-P-D patients lead longer, more active lives. And the financial connection is also important: The results of the trial will help us determine whether to extend Medicare coverage for home oxygen treatment to patients with moderate C-O-P-D disease. Currently, Medicare limits coverage of home oxygen therapy to beneficiaries with severe C-O-P-D. To prevent more Americans from suffering with C-O-P-D, we are also developing a national health literacy campaign. This campaign will help increase awareness of C-O-P-D and its risk factors and underscore the benefits of early detection and treatment in slowing the disease and improving the quality of life. I want to thank all of you who have been involved in developing that health literacy initiative. Secondhand Smoke The C-O-P-D clinical trial and the health literacy initiative are just two examples of our work to translate the best available science and use it to improve the health and well-being of the American people. Another example is the Reports the Office Surgeon General has issued on tobacco. We have spent a lot of time gathering the best research on tobacco and its impact on health. When it comes to smoking, the science is clear: - Quitting smoking is the single most important step patients can take to reduce the risk of developing C-O-P-D and to slow the progress of the disease.
And its reach extends beyond C-O-P-D: - Smoking is the largest preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States.
The Office of the Surgeon General has a long history of exposing the risks of tobacco use. In 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the groundbreaking Report on smoking and health. The role of the Surgeon General is to protect and maintain the health of the American people. And Surgeon General Terry knew that to meet that obligation, he would have to call for a fundamental change in how our country viewed tobacco at the time. Dr. Terry also knew that by issuing the results of the research available to him at the time - research that showed causality between smoking and three diseases - he was taking aim at one of the pervasive symbols of American life - the cigarette. Back in 1964, more than 42% of Americans smoked. As a matter of fact, until he started work on his smoking Report, the Surgeon General himself was a smoker. Needless to say, when he released this report, Dr. Terry quit smoking. One day he was a smoker, and the next day he wasn't. The science was clear. Smoking is bad for your health, especially your lungs. Today, more than 40 years later, the science is even more clear. Smoking causes disease in nearly every organ in the body, at every stage of life, here and around the world. The statistics are compelling: - Today, more than 44 million American adults smoke.
- And this year alone 440,000 people will die prematurely of a tobacco-related illness.
- For every person who dies, 20 more people are living with at least one serious tobacco-related illness.
- Finally - and this fact simply cannot be emphasized enough - tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
Last summer, the Office of the Surgeon General released our latest Report: The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. Smoking not only impacts the smoker, but often loved ones and friends around the smoker. The reality is that more than 126 million non-smoking Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke. Everyone knew how bad smoking is, but this Report confirmed that smoking is actually worse than we thought. Every year, secondhand smoke causes tens of thousands of heart disease deaths and approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths among American nonsmokers. Our nation's children are being exposed to secondhand smoke. This exposure compromises their health in dozens of ways. Secondhand smoke is a cause of respiratory conditions in children. That fact was revealed by our study of secondhand smoke effects that began in 1986, and we have been communicating that information through numerous venues. However, after further research and analysis, we have found that the consequences of smoke on a child's respiratory system are even more severe than we originally understood. Secondhand smoke causes our children to suffer from: - Acute respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia
- Respiratory symptoms such as cough, phlegm, wheezing, and breathlessness
- More frequent and severe asthma attacks
- Ear infections
and As acting Surgeon General, this assault on our children's health troubles me more than I can say. Children deserve a healthy start in life. I'm sure that like me, you've seen a child sitting in the backseat of a car while a parent or grandparent lights up a cigarette in the front seat. If you were to ask any parent or grandparent if he wants his child to grow up healthy and happy… you'd more than likely get a resounding "Yes!" But some loving parents and grandparents don't realize that they are putting their children's health in jeopardy by exposing them to the dangers of secondhand smoke. We are working very hard to get these new findings out to the American people. Not every American is a scientist or a health care professional. It is our job to help all Americans put the best health research into practice at home and at work, and as a part of daily life. All the research in the world means nothing if it sits on bookshelves. People's Piece That's why when we issued the Surgeon General's Report we also issued a full-color People's Piece that makes the science in the Report clear to the average American. We issue a People's Piece with every Report or Call to Action, and have done so for three years running. Each People's Piece includes information about what the research actually means to Americans and their health, and what actions we can all take to protect our health and our family's health. The input we've received from community health leaders throughout the nation and around the world tells us that the People's Pieces have had a tremendous impact on people of all ages and educational levels. The issues are clear, the need is great, and the time is now, if we will have an impact on our current and future generations. That is why last year we gathered leading environmental health experts for the first-ever Surgeon General's Workshop on Healthy Indoor Environment The Surgeon General's Workshop on Healthy Indoor Environment crystallized, focused, and provided a strong foundation for our H-H-S environmental public health efforts and partnerships regarding the indoor environment health hazards including secondhand smoke, lead, radon, and asbestos. As a result of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Healthy Indoor Environment, the Office of the Surgeon General has teamed up with the Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to begin work on a document for the American people - for improving and safeguarding the health of our nation - targeted to be a Surgeon General's Call To Action on a Healthy Indoor Environment. This document, which we anticipate taking about a year to prepare, will help us link the importance of a healthy indoor environment, with our priorities of prevention, public health preparedness, and eliminating health disparities. It will help inform the American people of the science, the evidence, and the data, to help improve our health literacy about this issue. And it will call the American people to action, based upon this science, evidence, and data. The issues are clear, the need is great, the time is now! Emergency Preparedness Another important component of our prevention efforts is emergency preparedness. The terrorist events on 9/11, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the new threats of pandemic flu have firmly planted emergency preparedness on our nation's health agenda. September 11 was a tragic event in the history of the United States and the world. It was also a turning point for us in terms of homeland security. And the series of hurricanes that hit our shores over the past few years brought another wave of awakening. We have learned through experience that disasters can strike at anytime, anywhere. Disaster takes many forms - a hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado, a flood, a fire, a pandemic flu or a hazardous spill … an act of nature or an act of terrorism. A disaster builds over days or weeks, or hits suddenly, without warning. And every year, millions of Americans face disaster, and its terrifying consequences. We know that we cannot always prevent emergency situations, but we can be prepared so that they do not become large scale disasters… and we can prevent some of the health consequences that arise from disasters. Over the past few years, emergency preparedness has become a major part of our mission to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the nation. The Office of the Surgeon General oversees the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service who are available to respond rapidly to urgent public health challenges and emergencies. Medical Reserve Corps My office also oversees the Medical Reserve Corps, founded after President Bush's 2002 State of the Union Address, in which the President asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. The M-R-C is a national system of community-based teams of medical and public health volunteers. M-R-C units are community-based. They are a way to organize health professionals who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. In many ways, the M-R-C units across the country support the Commissioned Corps, strengthen the public health infrastructure, and improve emergency preparedness. And make no mistake about it: Respiratory professionals are an important part of this volunteer network. I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have donated your time to an M-R-C unit. You have provided tremendous support to my office… and to the communities you serve. For example, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, over 3,000 evacuees were triaged by the Lee County, Mississippi Medical Reserve Corps volunteers. You may not know that dozens of respiratory therapists volunteered their time to support medical stations at the local American Red Cross shelter. These volunteer respiratory therapists took time away from their daily lives to staff the medical station 24/7 for three weeks or longer - sacrificing their time and energy to help victims who lost everything. There are countless untold stories like these of unsung heroes …. who are right here in our midst. Later on today, you will hear from Captain Rob Tosatto, Director of the Medical Reserve Corps Program, about the M-R-C, its function, and how you can get involved. Please consider joining your colleagues in this honorable work. Respiratory Therapists and Disaster Response As you know, respiratory professionals are critical to any emergency preparedness team. And H-H-S is committed to make sure that respiratory therapists are a part of our national efforts. Last month, H-H-S announced a recruitment effort to engage respiratory therapists to be part of any mass casualty or disaster response effort. We are working with the American Association of Respiratory Care to help us fill an important role in our nation's disaster response. H-H-S is seeking to develop a pool of 200 respiratory therapists for disaster preparedness teams to be hired under H-H-S emergency hiring authority in times of disaster. Currently there are about 50 therapists who are on the list …. but I'm here to tell you that we need more help. Please visit U-S-A-JOBS.com and the A-A-R-C website to learn more about these paid opportunities to be a part of our nation's disaster preparedness team. Closing and Charge I want to close by thanking you for your dedication. Your presence is felt across the lifespan: - From the first days of life, you help infants breathe when their little bodies cannot do so on their own….
- You help children manage their asthma so that they can run, jump, and play.
- You improve health literacy by finding the teachable moments in the hospital setting to help educate patients about prevention and lung disease.
- You come into our communities to provide vital health services within in the comfort of our own homes.
- You go beyond the call of duty to help our nation in times of emergency.
- And toward the end of our lives, once again you help us breathe a little easier when our lungs are frail.
Thank you for your continuing work, and for your commitment to improving the health of all Americans. Today I want to ask for your continued leadership in: - improving American's health literacy level;
- continuing to disseminate the important information about the health consequences of smoking and secondhand smoke;
and - helping our nation prevent the deadly diseases that literally "take our breath away."
Looking around this room, I know that through your efforts, and our strong and growing partnership, we can ensure better health and greater happiness for all Americans. I look forward to working with you during this conference and beyond. Thank you. ### Last revised: September 04, 2008 |