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Medical Screenings Free for Workers in Trade Center Area
CWA is urging members who worked or volunteered at the site of the World Trade Center collapse to take part in free medical screenings and related services, even if they have seen their own doctor.
“We have many members who have been experiencing a range of respiratory problems as a result of breathing in contaminants on site and there are still so many unknowns about the long term health effects,” said Micki Siegel de Hernández, health and safety director for CWA District 1. “This program is designed to uncover current health problems, as well as to protect against future health concerns through early detection.”
The services, including screenings, diagnostic referrals, and occupational health education, are offered through the National World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program, which is federally funded through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The screenings are specifically for firefighters, rescuers and other workers who have spent time at Ground Zero through the recovery, restoration and clean-up. While CWA represents thousands of members who worked in or near the trade center, including Port Authority, AT&T, Dow Jones and certain New York City employees, presently only CWA members who have worked in the disaster area since Sept. 11 are eligible. Those members are primarily Lucent and Verizon workers and camera operators represented by NABET.
The program’s present $11.5 million budget will cover screenings for 8,500 people. Congress approved another $90 million dollars, but the funds were part of a $5.1 billion package for supplemental homeland security programs that President George W. Bush vetoed.
“This is just one more example of the administration’s anti-worker agenda,” District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino said. “The money would have expanded the current program to provide initial screenings for more workers, as well as pay for long-term medical monitoring. There’s still a chance we will receive these crucial funds but it is likely to be another year, and the money is badly needed now.”
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who championed the additional funding, offered to visit Bush at his ranch in Texas and bring along New York firefighters who have respiratory diseases as a result of the rescue work. Bush refused, replying that the money wasn’t “for truly pressing needs and priorities.”
The medical tests are being coordinated by the Mount Sinai-Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine in New York City. The screenings are being performed at selected occupational health centers in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and other sites around the country.
Since the screenings began in mid-July, about 40 percent of more than 500 appointments have been for eligible CWA members. The screenings are being scheduled on a priority basis, with highest risk individuals being seen first.
Siegel de Hernández said the criteria for eligibility are being changed on a regular basis. Members who may not meet the current requirements will be placed on a waiting list and contacted when the criteria are revised.
She encouraged any members who may be eligible to call a toll-free number to set up an appointment. “This medical screening program is being run by the leading experts in the field of occupational health,” she said. “You can’t get better care than this.”
To sign up for a medical screening, call toll-free (888) 702-0630. A detailed fact sheet describing the WTC Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program has been mailed to locals, or can be obtained by calling Micki Siegel de Hernández in District 1 at (212) 509-6994.
“We have many members who have been experiencing a range of respiratory problems as a result of breathing in contaminants on site and there are still so many unknowns about the long term health effects,” said Micki Siegel de Hernández, health and safety director for CWA District 1. “This program is designed to uncover current health problems, as well as to protect against future health concerns through early detection.”
The services, including screenings, diagnostic referrals, and occupational health education, are offered through the National World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program, which is federally funded through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The screenings are specifically for firefighters, rescuers and other workers who have spent time at Ground Zero through the recovery, restoration and clean-up. While CWA represents thousands of members who worked in or near the trade center, including Port Authority, AT&T, Dow Jones and certain New York City employees, presently only CWA members who have worked in the disaster area since Sept. 11 are eligible. Those members are primarily Lucent and Verizon workers and camera operators represented by NABET.
The program’s present $11.5 million budget will cover screenings for 8,500 people. Congress approved another $90 million dollars, but the funds were part of a $5.1 billion package for supplemental homeland security programs that President George W. Bush vetoed.
“This is just one more example of the administration’s anti-worker agenda,” District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino said. “The money would have expanded the current program to provide initial screenings for more workers, as well as pay for long-term medical monitoring. There’s still a chance we will receive these crucial funds but it is likely to be another year, and the money is badly needed now.”
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who championed the additional funding, offered to visit Bush at his ranch in Texas and bring along New York firefighters who have respiratory diseases as a result of the rescue work. Bush refused, replying that the money wasn’t “for truly pressing needs and priorities.”
The medical tests are being coordinated by the Mount Sinai-Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine in New York City. The screenings are being performed at selected occupational health centers in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and other sites around the country.
Since the screenings began in mid-July, about 40 percent of more than 500 appointments have been for eligible CWA members. The screenings are being scheduled on a priority basis, with highest risk individuals being seen first.
Siegel de Hernández said the criteria for eligibility are being changed on a regular basis. Members who may not meet the current requirements will be placed on a waiting list and contacted when the criteria are revised.
She encouraged any members who may be eligible to call a toll-free number to set up an appointment. “This medical screening program is being run by the leading experts in the field of occupational health,” she said. “You can’t get better care than this.”
To sign up for a medical screening, call toll-free (888) 702-0630. A detailed fact sheet describing the WTC Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program has been mailed to locals, or can be obtained by calling Micki Siegel de Hernández in District 1 at (212) 509-6994.