In the 14 years since the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC), the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has diagnosed and treated more than 20,000 first responders and survivors for 9/11-related physical and psychological issues. Area workers, residents, and responders were exposed to at least 70 carcinogens and other hazardous substances when the twin towers collapsed on September 11, 2001. Many of those involved in the recovery efforts in the days, weeks, and months after the terrorist attacks continue to require long-term medical care for conditions that have gotten worse or are just beginning to develop.
Physicians at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—one of seven Clinical Centers of Excellence established through the World Trade Center Health Program—have been monitoring and treating 9/11 responders since the earliest days. They are acutely aware that people can be affected by contaminants as long as 40 years after initial exposure, based on pioneering research into the diseases caused by asbestos conducted in the 1960s by the late Irving J. Selikoff, MD, at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Patients are currently being treated for many issues, including asthma, upper respiratory complications, post-traumatic stress disorder, gastroesophageal reflex disease (GERD), and various cancers. Four responders in the program are profiled in this issue of Inside Mount Sinai. Their recollections were compiled by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), in collaboration with Mount Sinai, to illustrate the importance of ongoing support for the World Trade Center Health Program. The $4.3 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which covers treatment for responders and survivors, begins to expire in October 2015 unless Congress votes to extend the bill.
Says Michael Crane, MD, Director of the World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center, “We keep hearing from patients, ‘I can’t catch my breath,’ or ‘I’m winded.’ But the nagging concern is that another type of illness may emerge in this population that we’re not really prepared for yet. It’s really one of the reasons why we need to watch these patients long term.”