Irwin Redlener
Irwin Redlener
Irwin Redlener is a pediatrician and public health activist who specializes in health care for underserved children, health care reform, and disaster planning, response, and recovery. He is the author of Americans at Risk: Why We Are Not Prepared for Megadisasters and What We Can Do Now...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth12 August 1944
CountryUnited States of America
predict quick turn
I wouldn't be too quick to predict how this is going to turn out,
affected children
Disasters like Oklahoma City and 9/11 were time-limited. The children who were affected psychologically could go to a place of normalcy.
law martial united
The translation of this is martial law in the United States,
account billions discussion dollars hardly measured national prepared since spent
I would like to see a new national discussion about what prepared means, how it's measured and what we should expect. Since 9-11, the nation has spent tens of billions of dollars on preparedness, yet we can account for very little and can hardly say what actually has been accomplished.
disaster people period require stressed support time vulnerable
Many people will be stressed and will require support over a long period of time and will be vulnerable to psychological problems. We know this from other disaster experiences.
federal hurricane imminent levels pressure ready seeing seems tremendous
We're seeing tremendous pressure at all levels to get ready for an imminent hurricane season, but on the federal level it seems frantic, not thoughtful.
extremely grim looking prospects
What we are looking at are extremely grim prospects for the future. This is a very overwhelmed system.
badly damaged drive easy houses living people understand weeks
When you drive around Biloxi and see all those houses that have been very badly damaged and see people living in the rubble for weeks and weeks, it's easy to understand how traumatizing this has been for these families.
ambassador deputy donors history normally people
Every single administration in American political history has put cronies and pals and donors into political positions. But normally those people become the ambassador to Liechtenstein or the deputy undersecretary of commerce.
catch deal
There's only so much academic disruption that a young child can deal with before he just can't catch up.
allowed cooperate leadership near unless willing
No organization should be allowed near disaster unless they are willing to cooperate with some level of established leadership.
health insurance net program programs
Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program are the two most important safety net programs for children.
good harms personally preparing record unless
Americans do not have a good track record when it comes to preparing for disasters, unless they see a clear possibility of personally being in harms way.
developing occurred scale
Very large scale disasters, especially those that have occurred in the developing world, have very long recovery periods.