“Americans do not have a good track record when it comes to preparing for disasters, unless they see a clear possibility of personally being in harms way.”

“Disasters like Oklahoma City and 9/11 were time-limited. The children who were affected psychologically could go to a place of normalcy.”

“Even the best community organizations and faith-based initiatives and the extraordinary charity of Americans across the country can't carry the brunt of eliminating poverty.”

“Every school should have well-rehearsed emergency response protocols covering a variety of possible scenarios, from fire to armed intruders. Schools should have good lines of communications with local emergency response officials and practice those relationships in drills and special exercises.”

“Every single administration in American political history has put cronies and pals and donors into political positions. But normally those people become the ambassador to Liechtenstein or the deputy undersecretary of commerce.”

“From a population point of view, it's actually very important that as few people as possible get the flu. People getting the flu is not a private matter. The risk for healthy people is really about your friends and neighbors and fellow travelers.”

“Hospitals are about healing.”

“If a severe pandemic materializes, all of society could pay a heavy price for decades of failing to create a rational system of health care that works for all of us.”

“If we ensure access to health care and 'best practice' asthma treatment for children, especially those at high risk, there is the potential to save the health care system billions of dollars.”

“Kids get a lot of lip service in disaster planning, but they tend to get far fewer resources than they need. The mantra of 'children are our most valuable resource' is almost never matched by actual funding.”

“Many low-income children face chronic stress from nutritional deprivation or persistent violence at home or in the community. By addressing their medical, emotional and developmental needs through a comprehensive clinical care model, we can lower their risk of developing long-term physical and mental health issues.”

“Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program are the two most important safety net programs for children.”

“No organization should be allowed near disaster unless they are willing to cooperate with some level of established leadership.”

“Police officers and firemen are so visible in their daily work, there's no mistaking they're there - and that presence makes people feel secure.”

“Poverty-fighting programs are not handouts - they are investments.”

“Seven million ship cargo containers come into the United States every year. Five to seven percent only are inspected - five to seven percent.”

“The best way to get a sense of what kinds of emergencies might present themselves in your community is by contacting local chapters of the American Red Cross or offices of emergency management in the region or state. Most large cities will have their own offices of emergency management.”

“The larger the disaster, the more necessary it is to have the government as the principal driver of recovery.”

“The problem with most children's hospitals is that they are passive. They are high quality. They are filled with the best doctors. But their function is to wait until kids get sick and get referred in.”

“The reality is that it's harder to recruit pediatric subspecialists if you're not recruiting them for a children's hospital.”

“The risks are far greater to your child of not getting immunized than any kind of speculative potential relationship between the vaccine and the development of autism.”

“There are several very good websites which describe the details of preparedness planning for citizens.”

“There isn't a single American city, in my estimation, that has sufficient plans for a nuclear terrorist event.”

“There's only so much academic disruption that a young child can deal with before he just can't catch up.”

“Very large scale disasters, especially those that have occurred in the developing world, have very long recovery periods.”

“When children are hungry, sleepy from a night spent fighting untreated asthma, or hobbled by symptoms of undiagnosed illnesses, they are less likely to do well in school.”