U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt answered questions today from a group of Iowa officials at a summit on preparing for a bird flu pandemic. Reverend Mary Robinson of the Eastside Ministerial Alliance Community Center in Waterloo asked about helping people with medical needs that normally “fall through the cracks.” She says many of the people would not be able to get the medicines they need to sustain them while they’re ill or caring for a loved one. Robinson says that needs to be a part of the planning.
Leavitt says faith-based organizations like Robinson’s are going to be important in the process and in helping individuals prepare for a potential pandemic. Leavitt says not everyone will be able to prepare and be ready for a pandemic, but he says the nation will be stronger for everyone that does. He says the more people that get prepared, the less strain there is on the resources needed to help those who can’t prepare.
Governor Vilsack says Robinson should get involved with state and local officials to talk about these issues as they plan. Vilsack says faith-based organizations can help in the mechanics and process of helping people, and he says they can also be involved in the discussion as to who gets care and who doesn’t and in what order they get care.
Alana Poage, the public health administrator for Louisa County, asked about liability concerns. She asked if anyone is addressing the regulatory or legal aspects of protecting local officials from lawsuits if they put someone on a cot in a school gymnasium to give them care.
Secretary Leavitt says they’re looking into whether his office needs more authority in this area. Leavitt says he already has authority to do most of the things in an emergency, but he says there are a lot of liability questions. Leavitt says they should never get themselves into a situation where they have liability concerns that stop a good Samaritan from helping someone. The summit in Des Moines is part of the overall federal planning process for a possible flu pandemic. Leavitt says Iowa’s summit was the ninth of the 50 he’ll attend.