Rep. Anne Hughes, Vincent Caprio and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz

By Rep. Anne Hughes

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and I met with Easton resident Vincent Caprio about advocating for EMTs and the first responders who responded to 9/11attacks, and the impacted 9/11 health fund survivors. We were both surprised to learn that Connecticut has the 4th largest population of impacted 9/11 EMTs and First Responder survivors, over 1,500 Connecticut residents, many of whom are suffering with respiratory illnesses and related cancers.

Caprio is a 9/11 first responder and survivor who advocates on behalf of those who responded to help at Ground Zero, who have since been diagnosed with  cancer and respiratory disease. Many First Responders and EMTs weren’t diagnosed with these chronic illnesses until 15 to 20 years after 9/11.

About 110,000 people are enrolled in the 9/11 World Trade Center Health Program, which was set up to provide medical monitoring and treatment of WTC-related health conditions. The issue, however, is the persistence required to obtain the proper certifications to qualify for the program, which creates a sometimes insurmountable barrier for life-saving treatments. Now survivors are contending with the threat of the federal budget cuts to the program, which is already due to run out of funding by 2027. We are working with our state and federal partners to address the funding and support certification and access to healthcare for all of these survivors of 9/11.

We do NOT forget their service.