Local doctor

Local doctor, nurse treat workers at Ground Zero

Nov 10, 2001

By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Journal Staff Writer

The Cortez community has generously supported efforts to aid disaster victims in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Karen Parko, M.D., a neurologist, and Winona Begay, R.N., both of Cortez, have dedicated their time and training at the front lines of the latest threat.

As active-duty Public Health Service agents, the two women were sent to Ground Zero in New York Oct. 25, where they helped treat some 8,000 postal workers who may have been exposed to anthrax. (When appropriate, Public Health Service agents determined alternative treatments).

Parko and Begay, who are employed at Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, N.M., worked in the main post office building, an area connected via a tunnel with the Morgan Post Office, where anthrax had been found.

Parko reported, "The medical concerns going on were occupational injuries." She and Begay’s colleagues, including New Mexico residents Ann Marie McCarthy, nurse practitioner and Becky Kaime, pharmacist, provided treatment that postal workers were having difficulty obtaining elsewhere.

Parko explained that the Public Health Service is one of the seven uniform public health services, and is responsible for the nation’s health service. Although it is not a military organization, agents "function like the military," Parko said. Becoming a member of the health service requires petitioning Congress for commission, she added.

Officers of the health service can be called to duty at any time, and must be ready at a moment’s notice.

Despite the potential threat, Parko said she is not worried. "I have a very good understanding of anthrax as a physician," she said. "There’s not a general fear" among her colleagues, she added, and she does not regard anthrax as a threat to Cortez.

Putting fears to rest "is why we’re all in the Public Health Service," Parko said. "Getting to work in New York gave me a sense of closure."