DR MARC SIEGEL: Twenty-five years after 9/11, the deadly health crisis is still claiming lives

When the alerts came on September 11, 2001, I first made sure my kids were safe and then headed to home base, which for me was that concrete lifesaver – Bellevue Hospital. I helped empty the hospital where I had trained, triaging patients to other facilities in preparation for World Trade Center survivors. Then we waited for hours for survivors who never came.

A few days later I visited the disaster site, and when I arrived, I was handed an N95 mask. I made my way through the rubble, very...