Washington state has become the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak due to the high number of cases in one of its nursing homes.
In order to ensure that local facilities do not become overwhelmed, the federal government has dispatched a 28-member team of physicians, nurses, and healthcare professionals from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to Washington to care for those already infected and offer the necessary support to the state government.
The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is one of only eight U.S. uniformed services and is devoted exclusively to public health and safety. Made up of over 6,000 uniformed officers, the Public Health Service has been tasked with serving a variety of roles in responding to the coronavirus, and will play an instrumental role in our nation’s ability to rapidly respond to and contain this virus.
The Public Health Service has dispatched more than 700 of its commissioned officers to address the coronavirus, including a team charged with caring for more than 50 critically ill Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
The Public Health Service acts as health crisis management, deploying top healthcare experts in response to man-made or natural disasters.
These highly skilled professionals come from multiple professions ranging from physicians, dentists, and pharmacists to engineers and scientists, and are stationed in over 20 different federal departments or agencies.
Acting as the “cavalry”, these officers have played a critical role in responding to the coronavirus by establishing contingency plans if U.S. hospitals are overwhelmed by patients. Ultimately, it’s their job to offer critical support to states and create a safety net for state or local systems in the event that they become overwhelmed.
Fortunately, the Public Health Service is a well-oiled machine and very familiar with how to respond to health emergencies. They have responded to virtually every major public health emergency in the U.S. and abroad, including Ebola, Zika virus, and SARS. Their response to national health threats like the Ebola virus in West Africa or rebuilding communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria demonstrate the value of our nation having a multidisciplinary force of public health uniformed service officers. They are more than capable of managing the coronavirus outbreak and are one of the key components that set the U.S. apart in public health management.
As stories about the coronavirus continue to appear on the news, it’s important to remember that our country has some of the leading health experts in the world and organizations like the Public Health Service dedicated to responding to similar health emergencies. The Public Health Service has already established a contingency plan for dealing with the virus and stands ready to deploy clinical strike teams if necessary.
Fortunately, the Public Health Service is a well-oiled machine and very familiar with how to respond to health emergencies. They have responded to virtually every major public health emergency in the U.S. and abroad, including Ebola, Zika virus, and SARS. Their response to national health threats like the Ebola virus in West Africa or rebuilding communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria demonstrate the value of our nation having a multidisciplinary force of public health uniformed service officers. They are more than capable of managing the coronavirus outbreak and are one of the key components that set the U.S. apart in public health management.
As stories about the coronavirus continue to appear on the news, it’s important to remember that our country has some of the leading health experts in the world and organizations like the Public Health Service dedicated to responding to similar health emergencies. The Public Health Service has already established a contingency plan for dealing with the virus and stands ready to deploy clinical strike teams if necessary.
As the largest public health program in the world, the Public Health Service has some of the top minds in the world, and I am confident in their abilities to prepare and manage health emergencies like the coronavirus.
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