Jan. 20, 2004

Health Care and Homeland Security

(This is Part II of an interview with University Provost John F. Williams.)

ByGeorge!: As the University continues to set and implement a strategic plan for academic excellence, can you talk about the Medical Center’s strategic thinking?

John Williams: We have a process in the Medical Center where about seven years ago we started a strategic planning process. We decided we were going to make this a living process. We weren’t going to have just one strategic plan that’s 1,000 pages and it sits on a shelf. So we get together twice a year and I ask my senior staff, department chairs and faculty what are the things, based on our strategic plan, that were achieved, not achieved and we ask why. Was it too much of a reach? Does it make sense anymore? I’ll give you a perfect example. We have some research areas that are our centers of emphasis. Then all of a sudden Sept. 11, 2001, occurred and we had to redirect our priorities. So why did we get so involved in biopreparedness? For one reason, we’ve trained first responders in the metropolitan area for over 30 years. When they go to other cities and states, they are trained by GW. So we had recognized experts. Some of our professors developed a Hospital Communication System that was unlike most systems in the United States. I was talking to the mayor about this recently and said that system is checked every single day at a certain time, by each hospital. They talk to each other about bed capacity, about what happened during the course of the night and did they have to close. I think there are very few cities in the United States that have that kind of communication and actually have plans between the hospitals to support each other if something happened to one. So biopreparedness is an area where we believe we have significant expertise in and we can make a contribution in training and research.

Cancer is another area, particularly cancers that affect the metropolitan Washington area. Minorities in this metropolitan area are disproportionally affected by certain kinds of cancer. Look at breast cancer, for example. White women get breast cancer in this area more than black women, but in black women, it’s a much more aggressive and deadly cancer. Why is that? Is it environmental, genetic or nutritional? These are the kinds of questions that we have to ask. The unfortunate thing with a lot of these diseases is that the District of Columbia is either first or last and none of it is good.

A third area is to get the community much more involved in the Medical Center and the University. The University does a phenomenal job in terms of the things it does for the citizens of the District of Columbia. We determined years ago that the only way you can truly be a vibrant, giving university is to involve the community. For example, we have the only Upward Bound program in a medical school in the United States. So kids meet here, they have a summer institute, they shadow scientists, nurses and physicians.

ByG!: You’ve been an important voice on a national level in the area of homeland security. Can you discuss your responsibilities and contributions to the Department of Homeland Security and to the White House?

JW: I was privileged to be asked by President Bush to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council on one of the committees. That was transitioned over to the Department of Homeland Security once it was firmly established. I was just reappointed by Secretary Tom Ridge. I’m on the Emergency Responders Security Advisory Committee and the group represents law enforcement, public health, medicine and public safety.

ByG!: How prepared is Washington and the University?

JW: It is important to note that the District of Columbia was the first emergency management system to be rated “A.” I think the city has taken great strides. It’s unique because it has to work with all the federal law enforcement agencies, but sometimes it’s not easy.

On the University level, President Trachtenberg appointed John Petrie for emergency management on campus. He is supported by a group of vice presidents and by a group of operations people. When people ask how prepared are you, we had Hurricane Isabel, the fire on 23rd Street and there were lessons learned, but no one was injured or killed. So I think we’re practicing what we preach.

ByG!: It’s that time of year when politicians start offering plans to improve health care. In one way or another, so-called experts claim these plans are flawed. If you were advising a presidential, senatorial or local candidate, what would you advise? What are the priorities?

JW: I think the statistics speak for themselves. We have 42 million uninsured people in the United States. How do we get them covered? My priorities would be prescription drugs. Look at Canada. What’s wrong with our system if you can get drugs so much cheaper in Canada and it has the same quality control as we have in the United States.

I think there is a mechanism to get everyone insured and that’s Medicaid. We just have to prioritize where our dollars are going. To me, it is unconscionable that a kid in the United States is not vaccinated or can die from a common disease that we know we’ve been preventing for decades. That is unconscionable. The other aspect is access. We’ve got to allow and find a way for our citizens to have access. If they have a particular disease, then they’ve got to be able to get the care for it. What frightens me is that I’m watching this two-tier system grow and grow and grow. Even the middle class now is having a difficult time affording proper health care. They can get minimal health care, but if they have a certain disease, they may not be able to get access to care. We have to tackle it because of the economic, political and social implications.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu

Related Link

Part I: GW's Premier Provost