Department+of+Health+and+Human+Services+-+Abhishek

= = =** Department of Health and Human Services By: Abhishek Singh   **=

**__Kathleen Sebelius__ -**  Since April 28, 2009

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"THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves."======

__Articles on H1N1 (Swine Flu):__

 * 1) The Health and Human Services Department is actively tracking the H1N1 virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the outbreak has the potential to become a pandemic. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned the state authorities to intensively search for the illness in their states. [|HHS tracking swine flu outbreak]
 * 2) The Swine Flue virus could get much deadlier in the upcoming flu season. China is horrified of the virus spreading among its 1.3 billion people which account for 20 % of the world's population, they have already has closed its cross-bordering traffic and has imposed comprehensive screening which has infuriated the Mexican government. [|Swine flu-HIV could devastate human race]
 * 3) The HHS Secretary (Kathleen Sebelius) has said that the vaccine for the H1N1 virus is proceeding quickly but still safety precautions should be taken to slow the spread of the disease. [|Swine Flu Vaccine Proceeding Quickly]


 * __Brief History:__ **
 * **1906:** The Pure Food and Drug Act is passed by Congress - authorized the government to monitor the safety of foods and medicines
 * **1921:** Bureau of Indian Affairs Health Division is created
 * **1930:** Creation of the National Institute of Health
 * **1938:** The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is passed
 * **1946: Communicable Disease Center is created which becomes the forerunner in the Controls for Disease Control and Prevention **
 * **1965: Medicare and Medicaid programs are created which provides health care for millions of Americans **
 * **1966: International Smallpox Eradication program is started to eliminate Small Pox - worldwide eradication is accomplished in 1977 **
 * **1970:** National Health Service Corps is created
 * **1981:** First identification of AIDS
 * **1990:** The Human Genome Project is created - identified all of the possible genes in human DNA
 * **1997:** The State Children's Health Insurance Program is created - extends health coverage to uninsured children
 * **2001:** Center's are created for Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Health and Human Services responds to first bioterrorism attack - anthrax through mail
 * **2002:** Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness is created to battle bioterrorism and other emergency health threats
 * **2003: Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act are passed which allows the prescription drug benefits **


 * __Health and Human Services Agencies:__ **
 * **Office of the Secretary** - responsible for looking over all the programs run by the Health and Human Services (HHS)
 * **Administration for Children & Families (ACF) -** responsible for public welfare, foster care, family preservation, low-income community development, etc...
 * **Administration on Aging (AoA) - helps elderly individuals maintain their dignity and independence in their homes and communities **
 * **Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality - translates research findings into better patient care and provides policymakers and other health care leaders with information needed to make critical health care decisions **
 * **Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease - responsible for preventing exposure and adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites and other sources of pollution in the environment **
 * **Centers for Disease Control & Prevention - provides national leadership, research, policy development, and scientific information to help people live safer and healthier lives **
 * **Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - ensures effective, up-to-date health care coverage and also promotes quality care for the beneficiaries **
 * **Food & Drug Administration - responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, the nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation **
 * **Health Resources & Services Administration -** provides ** national leadership, program resources and services needed to improve access to quality health care **
 * **Indian Health Service - responsible for increasing services, access, disease management, and patient care for the American Indian community **
 * **National Institute of Health - advancing the knowledge of the genetic basis for variable drug responses **
 * **Office of Inspector General - promotes integrity, efficiency and effectiveness of the HHS (Health and Human Services Department) **
 * **Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration - responsible for strengthening the Nation's health care capacity to provide prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for substance abuse and mental illnesses **

__**Recommendation to the President: **__ As the H1N1 virus is spreading across the country and since the flu season will be starting soon in the fall, I would like to suggest that President Obama makes sure that the country does not enter into a state of panic worrying about the Swine Flu, the President needs to make sure that people are not afraid to travel so that the economy of the country does not suffer even more than what it is already suffering. At the same time, the President needs to make sure that the number of people that have the disease is not increasing rapidly, the President needs to tell the public that precautions need to be taken but they should not be taken to an extreme because the H1N1 virus is not lethal and will have a vaccine available for it soon in the following months.