The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is moving to rebuild staffing at the World Trade Center Health Program, signing off on dozens of hires after months of internal turmoil that left key positions empty. The move is intended to ease backlogs that advocates say have delayed treatment approvals and enrollment for thousands of 9/11 responders and survivors.
Advocates and lawmakers said they received an email from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. approving hiring for 37 long vacant positions, a step that would raise the program's on board staff from roughly 83 employees to its authorized level of 120, according to ABC News. The World Trade Center Health Program serves about 140,000 responders and survivors, and officials expect the program to be "fully staffed again soon," CBS New York reports.
Why staffing fell and what it meant
The program's capacity was whittled down after a year of reassignments, buyouts and a departmentwide hiring freeze that advocates say left the WTCHP operating more than 25 percent below its authorized complement. 911 Health Watch has warned that staffing slipped from the low 90s into the low 80s even as enrollment climbed, producing slower treatment approvals, stalled research awards and gaps in oversight of contractors. Those delays, the group says, have had real consequences for patients waiting for authorizations and research funding.
Lawmakers pushed; HHS responded
New York lawmakers pressed HHS for answers, questioning Secretary Kennedy over paused petition reviews and the reassignment of program staff, according to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's office. Reporting in New York Daily News says HHS approved the 37 hires after those inquiries. Rep. Andrew Garbarino called the move "real progress for the 9/11 community" and said more staff should translate into shorter waits for care.
What this means for patients
Advocates welcomed the staffing approvals but cautioned that hiring alone will not instantly clear the program's backlog of pending petitions, research awards and treatment authorizations. Benjamin Chevat, executive director of the Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, praised the decision as a step forward but urged HHS to act quickly on stalled petition reviews, according to Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act. Chevat and other advocates said they will be watching to ensure the new positions are filled promptly and that pending determinations on cardiac, autoimmune and cognitive conditions are issued.
HHS told reporters it is committed to strengthening the program and moving petition reviews through established processes, while advocates say they will keep up pressure until the service improvements materialize. The staffing change follows a congressional funding fix earlier this year to shore up the program's long term finances, as Congress Secures Long-Term Care reported.
