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THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly

IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Secretary Thompson appoints new CDC Director
2) Secretary Thompson leads U.S. delegation to the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona
3) Secretary Thompson and President Bush promote faith-based charities in Milwaukee
4) Bicycle and helmet safety are important parts of Prevention, says Secretary Thompson

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Secretary Thompson appoints new CDC Director

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson appointed Dr. Julie Gerberding the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 3rd.

"I can think of no one better equipped to guide the CDC during this period of transition and to build on the CDC's historic legacy of excellence than Julie Gerberding," Secretary Thompson said. "Dr. Gerberding has demonstrated the kind of incisive, dedicated and effective leadership America needs as we enter a whole new era of medical research and practice. Last fall, when the anthrax mailings rocked our country, she provided wise counsel, exceptional management leadership, and sound judgment. She provided a calming, informed and confident voice in the midst of great public anxiety. That speaks volumes of her value as a true public servant."

Prior to accepting her new appointment, Dr. Gerberding was serving as the acting deputy director of the CDC. Before that, she served as Director of the CDC's Hospital Infections Program and as Acting Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California at San Francisco. She is also one of the nation's leading experts on bioterrorism, and served as a critical advisor for HHS's efforts during the anthrax attacks of fall 2001.

Dr. Gerberding earned her B.A. and M.D. degrees at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and then completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at UCSF, where she also served as Chief Medical Resident before completing her fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology and Infectious Diseases at UCSF. She earned her MPH degree at University of California, Berkley in 1990.

Her scientific interests encompass emerging infection prevention and healthcare quality promotion among patents and their healthcare providers. She has authored or co-authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters and contributed to numerous guidelines and policies relevant to HIV prevention, post-exposure prophylaxis, management of infected healthcare personnel, and hospital infection control.

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Secretary Thompson leads U.S. delegation to the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson is leading the U.S. delegation to the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, this week.

"The spread of HIV/AIDS is a scourge on our world that the President and I am committed to fighting," Secretary Thompson said before leaving for the conference. "With a multi-pronged approach of treatment, research, education, and protection the U.S. is committing more resources than any other nation in the history of the world to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS."

Since AIDS was first reported more than 20 years ago, more than 60 million people globally have been infected with the virus. At the end of 2001, an estimated 40 million people around the world were thought to be living with HIV.

The United States has solidified its leadership role in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS under President Bush's bold and visionary agenda that includes an unmatched commitment to research, prevention and treatment initiatives - both at home and abroad.

In terms of time, programs and money, the level of commitment by this administration to doing all we can to end the scourge of HIV/AIDS is unprecedented. No administration in any nation has ever made fighting HIV/AIDS as high a priority as the United States under President Bush:

• Overall HIV/AIDS spending by the U.S. government has increased from $14.2 billion in fiscal year 2001 to a proposed $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2003. That includes an increase in international funding from $726 million to $1.12 billion over the same period.
• This administration is devoted to working to find a cure and an effective vaccine. The President's NIH budget request for fiscal year 2003 includes $2.8 billion for HIV research - a 9.9 percent increase over fiscal year 2002. Additionally, over the five-year doubling of the NIH budget, funding for AIDS vaccine research has increased by 185 percent.
• This commitment includes President Bush's leadership in making the first pledge of $200 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the spring of 2001 - before the Fund had even been created. Since then, the U.S. commitment has risen to $500 million, and the United States is the only nation to make a second pledge to the Fund.
• Just last month, President Bush introduced a new $500 million International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative, designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to infants. It is expected to reach 6 million and treat 1 million women a year, resulting in a reduction of mother-to-child transmission by 40 percent within five years in 12 African countries and the Caribbean.

In addition to unprecedented support of categorical and traditional HIV/AIDS programs, President Bush is committed to fighting this disease domestically through increased support for community health centers, hepatitis C, substance abuse treatment, Medicare and Medicaid, and other health care services critical to fighting this epidemic and caring for those affected - particularly in minority and rural areas.

President Bush also is committed to fighting HIV/AIDS by:

• Building upon existing strengths in our governmental and private sector organizations and ensuring that we are spending public and private money as efficiently as possible. This will ensure that our resources devoted to this global epidemic will reach as many people as possible, while reducing bureaucratic interference.
• Ensuring that funding for HIV services reach minorities affected by HIV/AIDS in proportion to the impact of the epidemic on those communities. More than half (54 percent) of the new HIV infections in the United States each year occur among African Americans, though they only represent 13 percent of the population, and 19 percent of the cases affect Hispanics, though they make up 12 percent of the U.S. population.
• Supporting abstinence-education and ABC programs - abstinence until marriage, be faithful and condom use, which have been so successful in Uganda.

HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that knows no borders. Therefore, the United States government is committed to integrating domestic and global efforts as much as possible; reducing the incidence of HIV domestically by at least 50 percent by 2010; reaching people as soon as possible once they are infected; and ensuring money goes to those individuals and populations who need it most to reduce racial disparities.

The XIV International AIDS Conference provides an excellent opportunity to continue to build and strengthen partnerships with nations around the world, the scientific community and the private sector to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

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Secretary Thompson and President Bush promote faith-based charities in Milwaukee

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson welcomed President George W. Bush to the Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 2.

"This church is a glowing example of people of faith helping people in the community, and Mr. President, I wanted you to see it firsthand," Secretary Thompson said. "And Mr. President, I know that we agree that a church that does good work and doesn't send people away because of religious faith, shouldn't be disqualfied from receiving public money."

Secretary Thompson was the governor of Wisconsin for 14 years before accepting the position of HHS Secretary in Jan. 2001. While governor, Thompson received bipartisan accolades for his leadership in school vouchers, welfare reform, and providing health coverage to needy Wisconsinites. "We were leaders here in Wisconsin of the Compassionate Conservatism movement," Secretary Thompson said previewing the President's visit. "We made a lot of things work here that other states and cities are trying emulate."

The Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ sponsors job training and child education programs in inner city Milwaukee. It has opened its doors to people who need help and continues to grow as more and more people hear about its programs.

President Bush spoke to the capacity crowd saying, "People come here to not only be comforted by the Comforter, but to be given and hand up by the good people here."

Promoting his Compassionate Conservative agenda, President Bush continued, "The government shouldn't be afraid of religion. The government shouldn't disqualify an enterprise because the people believe in God."

The President went on to say that all institutions, public, private, or religious must be held accountable for the federal money that it receives. "No place should be asked if you believe in God," President Bush said. "We should ask, 'Does your program work? ' and if it does, and we can measure your successs, the government should help out."

President Bush and Secretary Thompson spent time shaking hands and greeting people in the audience before heading back to Washington, DC.

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Bicycle and helmet safety are important parts of Prevention, says Secretary Thompson

Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has a message for bicyclists: "Wear your helmets. Unfortunately, some cyclists will have accidents -- but with some common sense and a little prevention, those accidents don't have to be tragedies."

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (www.cpsc.gov), there are over 550,000 emergency room visits by bicyclists every year, with almost two-thirds of the deaths and 1/3 of the injuries involving head and face injuries.

This is tragic, especially when considering that as much as 85% of the risk of head injuries may be prevent by wearing a helmet. While the number of people wearing helmets has grown in the past decade, up from 18% in 1991 to 50% in 1998, half of the bicyclists on the road still remain unprotected. As such, injuries that could so easily be prevented remain a danger.

Bicycle safety is important for all age groups, and instructing young children to wear a helmet and encouraging it as a habit is a very good way to start. Helmets should be encouraged on children, as more than 40 percent of all head injury-related deaths and approximately three-fourths of head injuries occur among children ages 14 and under. Wearing a helmet should be promoted to children not only because of laws requiring them, or the temporary safety provided during one ride, but also because it will hopefully become a habit that sticks with them through life.

Other important safety precautions include the generous use of reflectors, both facing the front and the back of your bike to help cars spot you, as well as using the proper turn signals when riding the bike to indicate your intent. It is also important if traveling at night to make sure you are wearing a white or light colored shirt (more easily visible in the dark), and that you have front-and-rear mounted lights. When riding, one must obey the rules of the road, and also make sure to have fun and enjoy the ride!

"Whether on my bicycle or my Harley," says Secretary Thompson, "I wouldn't dream of riding without my helmet and a proper respect for the rules of safety and the road."

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Last updated 8 July 2002
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