More than twenty years after 9/11 attacks, the first responders at the World Trade Center site continue to experience medical consequences. Stony Brook’s WTC Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence, led by Dr. Benjamin Luft, monitors and treats over 13,000 WTC responders. Now Stony Brook University’s treatment program has received $147 million in federal funding.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, awarded the Stony Brook World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program the funds over an eight-year period to expand patient care and support infrastructure needs.
The majority of this work occurs at its main facility and clinic in Commack. Federal funds have supported the effort for 18 years, as NIOSH has funded clinical services for patients treated at Stony Brook.
Medical conditions for this population have included post traumatic stress disorder, respiratory illnesses, cancer and long-term COVID.
“As time moves on, the medical cases of WTC responders become more complex and challenging to treat,” said Luft, director of the Stony Brook WTC Health and Wellness Program, in a statement. “For this reason and the fact that most of the diseases we treat are chronic, being able to expand our clinical offerings as well as integrate services such as respiratory and psychiatric care at the clinic is vital to the care we provide our patients with the goal to cure some and treat all of their conditions.”
The funding more than doubles the $60 million, five-year award the WTC Wellness Program received in 2017 from NIOSH that had provided support until the end of March of this year.
The $147 million in new funding will support infrastructure needs for the clinic and its satellite office in Mineola. The two centers will use updated technologies and will deploy emerging capabilities in telehealth and artificial intelligence to communicate, diagnose and monitor cases.
