NJ site at Rutgers still healing physical, mental ailments of 9/11

NJ site at Rutgers still healing physical, mental ailments of 9/11

A New York Fire Department Chief, firefighters from various municipalities, and other rescue workers take a break Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, from the rescue/recovery effort at the World Trade Center site. (Andrea Booher, FEMA via AP)

PISCATAWAY — Decades after the deadliest terror attack on American soil, medical issues among those who survived 9/11 and responded to Ground Zero in Manhattan remain a daily top priority at a handful of operations in the region, including a center in New Jersey.

Rutgers University is home to one of the sites of the World Trade Center Health Program, which delivers free care to those who were impacted by the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

According to the site's medical director, Dr. Iris Udasin, the Rutgers program is still seeing more than 2,000 patients per year.

"We have a lot of people that need treatment for their physical and mental health problems," Udasin told New Jersey 101.5.

SEE ALSO: See where NJ ranks on a list of the happiest states

Udasin has been with the program since its inception in 2003 and has seen patients' relatively minor health issues gradually evolve into bigger problems. And the program still gets new patients, at times coming in with life-threatening diagnoses.

Workers stand at ground zero in New York, Sept. 12, 2001. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett)
loading...

"Certain cancers only manifest themselves 20 to 25 years after an exposure, so we have been seeing a lot of new cancer cases," Udasin said.

Survivors and responders also have care outlets at five sites in New York. And there's a national program for those who are now living outside the metropolitan area.

Iris Udasin, medical director at the WTC Health Program, at Rutgers University Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (John Munson)
loading...

On the 23rd anniversary of the attacks, Udasin is receiving the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation's "Service Above Self" award, for her work with 9/11 survivors and responders over the years.

The program sites also tackle mental health issues. Post-traumatic stress disorder linked to the terror attacks, for example, has developed into long-term depression and anxiety for countless survivors.

The centers also offer social work services and can lead individuals to any benefits for which they may be eligible.

"Our work is far from done," Udasin said. "We need to be able to take care of these people."

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom

See 20 Ways America Has Changed Since 9/11

For those of us who lived through 9/11, the day’s events will forever be emblazoned on our consciousnesses, a terrible tragedy we can’t, and won’t, forget. Now, two decades on, Stacker reflects back on the events of 9/11 and many of the ways the world has changed since then. Using information from news reports, government sources, and research centers, this is a list of 20 aspects of American life that were forever altered by the events of that day. From language to air travel to our handling of immigration and foreign policy, read on to see just how much life in the United States was affected by 9/11.

Gallery Credit: Madison Troyer

Joe Biden through the years

A look at Joe Biden this century, from the halls of Congress where he served as senator from Delaware, to his time in the White House, first as vice president and then as president himself.

Gallery Credit: Getty Images

Categories: Health & Wellness, New Jersey News, Ultimate New Jersey

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM