DHS - the Office of Health Affairs - Research Paper Example

Department of Homeland Security: Office of Health Affairs Mission and History The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established on November 25, 2002, by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. It was intended to consolidate U.S. executive branch organizations related to "homeland security" ( 22 separate agencies) into a single Cabinet agency. With the creation of the DHS, the Office of Health Affairs assumed the responsibilities of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture, the Justice Departments Office for Domestic Preparedness, Domestic Emergency Support Teams and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) National Domestic Preparedness Office. It also absorbed the Department of Energys Nuclear Incident Response Team. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) remains a separate agency within the DHS but works closely with the Office of Health Affairs. Upon its creation the Office of Health Affairs assumed responsibility for prevention of, and first response to all chemical, biological, nuclear and radiation (CBRN) threats to the American homeland. The mission statement of the Office of Health Affairs is included on the Offices website: The Office of Health Affairs serves as the Department of Homeland Securitys principal agent for all medical and health matters. Working throughout all levels of government and the private sector, the Office of Health Affairs leads the Departments role in developing and supporting a scientifically rigorous, intelligence-based biodefense and health preparedness architecture to ensure the security of our Nation in the face of all hazards. (“Office of Health Affairs”) Organization The chart below (from “One Team, One Mission, Securing Our Homeland U.S. Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2008–2013”) organizationally locates the Office of Health Affairs within the DHS as a whole. The Office of Health Affairs Within the DHS Roles and Responsibility The DHS strategic plan for the five-year period from 2008 to 2013. The Office of Health Affairs plays a key role in attainment of many of these overall organizational goals. Strategic goal #2 in the strategic plan is to “Protect the Nation from Dangerous Goods”. This includes goods containing CBRN threats and the Office of Health Affairs is the lead agency responsible for this. Strategic goal #4 in the strategic plan is to “Strengthen Our Nations Preparedness and Emergency Response Capabilities”. Again, the Office of Health Affairs is the lead agency in the achievement of this goal. The role of the Office of Health Affairs is not restricted to achievement of these goals. Its roles and responsibilities are quite diverse. Before full body screening was introduced at American airports it was the Office of Health Affairs that was responsible for insuring that the doses of radiation were below medically safe levels. (Wojtas, 2010) Also, when the Environmental Protection Agency discovered “that a New York-based company had attempted to import mothballs from China that could be mistaken for candy and were not registered with the EPA” it was the Office of Health Affairs that assumed responsibility for the warning being delivered to public health authorities throughout the nation. (“Illegal Pesticides in Misleading Packaging”) The Office of Health Affairs also works to increase knowledge of CBRN issues in the wider defense community. Robert Hooks, the deputy assistant secretary for WMD and biodefense in the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Health Affairs, is scheduled to speak at the CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high- yield Explosives) Defense Summit being held February 14-16, 2011 in Washington by the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement. (Cohen, 2010) The Office of Health Affairs primary responsibilities are not operational. Rather, it is a collaborator with, and facilitator to, all organizations involved in prevention of, and response to, CBRN threats. In this role it works closely with the armed forces and the intelligence community. The BioWatch program is one of its few operational responsibilities. Workforce Overview. The DHS Office of Health has 84 full time employees and its 2010 budget is $139.25 million. (Who Runs Government) This represents a reduction in staff of 4 full time employees from 2009 staffing levels and a $17 million (12%) reduction in the Offices budget from 2009 levels. (Lake and Haddal, 2010, 51) However, its budget is scheduled to increase to $185.18 million in 2011. (Office of Management Services, 2010) The organizations leader, Dr. Alexander Garza, epitomizes the unique triumvirate of skills that the Office requires of its employees. Garza has experience in the military, public health and emergency medical services (EMS). The organization liaises with the military, public health officials and first responders an needs to understand the differing viewpoints of these three stakeholders as it coordinates CBRN defenses and first responses across the country. Leadership The head of the Office of Health Affairs is the DHS Assistant Secretary, Office of Health Affairs/Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Alexander Garza. According to his official biography, prior to joining the Department in August 2009, Dr. Garza spent 13 years as a practicing physician and medical educator. He most recently served as the director of military programs at the ER One Institute at the Washington Hospital Center, and has served as the associate medical director of the emergency medical services (EMS) for the state of New Mexico, and director of EMS for the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department. While practicing medicine he also served as a professor at leading medical institutions including Georgetown University, the University of New Mexico and University of Missouri - Kansas City. In his capacity as a member of the Reserves he “was a battalion surgeon and public health team chief during Operation Flintlock in Dakar, Senegal. He also served as a public health team chief during Operation Iraqi Freedom and as a special investigator and medical expert for Major General Raymond Odierno.” (“Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Alexander Garza”) His experience as an educator, public health official and with the military equips him well to lead the Office of Health. The WMD and Biodefense Office is led by Mr. Robert R. Hooks. Dr. Kathryn Brinsfield leads the Office of Component Services. Organizational Highlights The DHS Office of Health has four primary offices: the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Biodefense Office; the Medical Readiness Office; the Component Services Office; and, the International Health and Global Security Office. The Weapons of Mass Destruction and Biodefense Office is responsible for bio-monitoring of all executive departments. It also “leads veterinary and agro-defense activities, including animal and zoonotic diseases as well as livestock, food, and water security issues” and “works with the Departments Science & Technology Directorate to manage the equities in Project BioShield”. Project BioShield, according to its website, “provides new tools to improve medical countermeasures protecting Americans against a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attack.” (“Project BioShield”) The Medical Readiness Office, “ is responsible for integrating emergency management and medical response capabilities with all levels of government as well as the private sector.” (“Office of Health Affairs”) It is responsible for coordinating all first response efforts to, and contingency plans, for CBRN attack. The Component Services Office operates internally. It is responsible for all Occupational Health and Safety issues within the DHS. It also “provides medical professional oversight of all medical services provided by, for, or on behalf of the Department” and “serves as the Department’s first-line component for issues impacting the health of Department employees.” (“Office of Health Affairs”) The International Health and Global Security Office “is a supporting division within OHA, playing both an advisory and coordinating role at all levels. This division provides international expertise and support to the three primary offices of OHA.” (“Office of Health Affairs”) Challenges The principle challenge facing the Office of Health Affairs is budget and personnel reductions. The 2010 budget reduction of $17 million was largely absorbed by reductions in the BioWatch program. Additionally, the Planning and Coordination account was reduced by $3 million, while $1 million was directed to Salaries and Expenses, most notably information technology for the National Capital Region. (Lake and Haddal, 2009, 51) Congress favors moving the entire BioWatch program to the Department of Health and Human Services. In part this is motivated by failures in the BioWatch program: For instance, in early 2009 New York City discontinued its participation in the program when an autonomous sensor prototype it was testing was discovered to have significant performance problems. (Lake and Haddal, 2009) The problems with the BioWatch program may reflect that it was the wrong program for the Office of Health Affairs to operate as it is principally concerned with coordination of CBRN defenses rather than operations. Addressing a workshop on the effects of the Gulf oil spill, Assistant Secretary explained, the Office of Health Affairs “views itself as a facilitator and a collaborator with multiple agencies working on medical and health issues, and as an umbrella agency to bring all information together.” (Institute of Medicine, 2010) This also presents the Office of Health Service with an inherent structural and institutional challenge, arguably its greatest challenge. Its limited resources, small size and budget, and lack of control over actual programs reduce its leverage and influence within the bureaucracy and it may struggle to maintain its role and relevance in the future. That said, it appears to be holding its own at the present as its budget is scheduled to increase to $185.18 million in 2011. (Office of Management Services, 2010) Intelligence and Armed Forces Application. The Office of Health Affairs is a facilitator and a collaborator and as such it works closely with both the intelligence community and all branches of the armed forces. The National Counterterrorism Center, particularly the Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group (ITACG) links the intelligence community and the Office of Health Affairs together and “consists of state, local, and tribal first responders and federal intelligence analysts from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, working at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to enhance the sharing of federal counterterrorism, homeland security, and weapons of mass destruction information with state, local, and tribal consumers of intelligence.” (Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group) In similar fashion the Office of Health Affairs liaises with all armed forces involved in prevention of, and response to, CBRN attacks. These include the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) of the United States Marine Corps, the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC) in Maryland – the Armys principal R&D center for chemical and biological defense technology, engineering, and service, and The 20th Support Command (CBRNE) integrates, coordinates, deploys, and provides trained and ready CBRNE forces. References Cohen, Bryan. (November 22, 2010). “Date set for CBRNE Summit”. BioPrepWatch. http://www.bioprepwatch.com/news/221773-date-set-for-cbrne-defense-summit. Department of Homeland Security. “Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Alexander Garza”. http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/bio_1251125982292.shtm. Department of Homeland Security. “Office of Health Affairs”. http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/editorial_0880.shtm. Department of Homeland Security. “One Team, One Mission, Securing Our Homeland Department of Homeland Security. “U.S. Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2008–2013”. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_StratPlan_FINAL_spread.pdf. “Illegal Pesticides in Misleading Packaging”. http://www.merchantville.com/images/pdf/Borough2010/Illegal_Pesticides.pdf. Institute of Medicine. (2010). Assessing the Effects of the Gulf Oil Spill on Human Health: A Workshop. The National Academies Press: Washington. Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group (ITACG). Intelligence Guide for First Responders. Lake, Jennifer E and Haddal, Chad C. (June 23, 2009). “Homeland Security Department. FY2010 Appropriations”. Congressional Reporting Service. Office of Management Services. (2010). Appendix I, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011. Project BioShield”. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bioshield/. Ward, Richard, Kathleen Kiernan, and Daniel Mabrey (2006). Homeland Security, An Introduction. 1st ed. LexisNexis. Who Runs Government. “Department of Homeland Security, Office of Health”. http://www.whorunsgov.com/Institutions/Homeland_Security/Offices/OS/OHA. Wojtas, Joe. (November 23, 2010). “Body Scanners effects on Kids Worries Urban”. The Day (Connecticut). http://www.theday.com/article/20101123/NWS01/311239887/-1/NWS. Read More