Staff cuts to World Trade Center Health Program bring anger, frustration, anxiety
Rescue workers at Ground Zero in Manhattan on Sept. 15, 2001, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Credit: Newsday/Viorel Florescu
Tom Wilson, a former NYPD sergeant from Bellport, said he has watched with anger and frustration as the Trump administration has made deep staffing cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program he credits with saving his life.
Wilson, 56, spent nearly a month at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terror attacks and later worked at the Staten Island landfill, sifting through debris in the search for human remains. He said he paid a stiff price for his service after being diagnosed with tongue cancer, chronic bronchitis, laryngitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease and PTSD.
Wilson and others who advocate for participants in the program, which provides medical treatment and services for 137,000 ailing first responders and survivors with conditions linked to toxic exposure from the attacks, said they're worried about whether it will continue to provide the same level of care for enrollees and those who may seek help in the future.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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