Centers for Disease Control launches reorganization

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week announced a sweeping overhaul of its organizational structure.

On April 21, CDC Director Julie Gerberding announced that Congress had approved the reorganization proposal for the agency, which is based in Atlanta and has an annual operating budget of $8 billion. She told reporters that the reshaped CDC should be more versatile, efficient and prepared for current public health threats.

"We wanted to modernize the CDC," Gerberding said. "This is a very, very important day in the history of this organization; we are changing the way we look … I think you'll be able to see even better science out of this agency."

According to CDC officials, the reorganization will improve communication and coordination, including the creation of four new coordinating centers: Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Health Promotion, Infectious Diseases, and Health Information and Services. An agency spokeswoman said the coordinating centers will improve communication among experts from different parts of the CDC, in an effort to share knowledge and research.

The reorganization also involves the creation of and two new national offices: Public Health Informatics and Health Marketing. The informatics center will use technology to translate raw public health and scientific data into accessible information. The marketing unit will develop public relations campaigns designed to help Americans lead healthier lives.

"Transforming our health-care system to help Americans live longer, healthier and better lives is our challenge in the 21st century," Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said. "CDC has taken a bold step to face that challenge. CDC is transforming itself by breaking down artificial walls between its scientists, eliminating redundancies, and strengthening collaboration with partners."

Several facets of the overhaul began about two years ago, according to a CDC spokeswoman. The effort is now official, however, and will pick up speed.

According to Gerberding, the last major organizational change at the CDC took place more than 25 years ago. She said she wants to end up with an agency that gives more support to workers and "really does bring experts together effectively, across organizational silos."

"We are going to be even more conscientious and more focused on supporting our workforce," Gerberding said. "The CDC workforce remains our greatest asset."