nczved head lonnie king cdc memo article jan 1st 2007

[ladycolorado]

Employees from the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases at CDC have raised concerns about "very serious issues" with the agency that have affected their ability to perform their jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to the Journal-Constitution, the memo represents "the latest documentation of serious, ongoing problems at the public health agency." The memo, written last month by ZVED Director Lonnie King, highlights the results of interviews with more than 100 CDC employees. According to the memo, CDC employees cited concerns about "dilution of our scientific capacities," a lack of resources, and ineffective systems and leadership. The memo states, "There is frustration, anger and a sense of things spinning out of control. ... The intensity of emotions and commonality of experience across ZVED is both profound and real." In addition, the memo states, "It was abundantly apparent to all participants and certainly to the rest of ZVED that there are some very serious issues that are making it difficult to accomplish our work," adding, "These have led to decreasing morale and have resulted in some intense emotional costs and burdens." CDC spokesperson Glen Nowak said that concerns raised by the memo are similar to those raised by other agency employees over the past three years. He said, "I don't think there's evidence we've been unable to do our job." Nowak added that CDC remains committed to "organization excellence" and has begun a process to identify and measure excellence. Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that CDC Director Julie Gerberding should "immediately initiate an honest and open dialogue" with agency employees (Young, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/31). here is a little more about it: Only this week, the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta sent a memo to Washington complaining that CDC Director Julie Gerberding was stripping it of both manpower and money.

Problems cited by employees include “dilution of our scientific capacities,” a critical lack of resources, systems that don’t work well and issues of leadership effectiveness, according a memo written last month by Lonnie King, director of CDC’s newly created National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases.

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It comes a year after five former CDC directors sent a rare joint letter to current CDC Director Julie Gerberding, raising concerns that turmoil in the agency — including an exodus of key staff and poor employee morale — was putting the CDC’s scientific mission at risk.

“I think it’s evidence that this is more than a morale problem and clearly a situation that now is affecting the proper functioning of the agency,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health, a Washington-based watchdog group that evaluates whether state and federal health agencies are prepared for emergencies.

Gerberding’s response was that some “old-guard employees…have difficulty with change.” Well, I should think they might if they were watching a Bush hack destroy one of the most critically important health agencies in the country.

(LC).