by Mark Silva
It was said, in the days after 9/11, that then-President George W. Bush had become "Comforter-in-Chief,'' holding America's hand at a grievous time.
If that's the model, in the midst of a flu outbreak that has quadrupled in a few days inside the United States and claimed the life of a toddler who traveled from Mexico with his family and died this week in Houston, President Barack Obama has become Mom-in-chief:
"Every American should know that the federal government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to control the impact of this virus,'' the president said.
But it was these words, coming from the president of the United States, that rang the loudest:
"There are also steps that Americans can take individually,'' Obama said. "They're the same steps that you would take to prevent any other flu:
"Keep your hands washed, cover your mouth when you cough, stay home from work if you are sick, keep your children home from school if they are sick.''
He's not alone: Nearly every representative of the federal government who has stepped in front of a camera this week in the midst of the "emerging'' H1N1 virus has reminded Americans of the same preventative medicine:
"In the interim, there are things every American can do,'' Kathleen Sebelius, the new secretary of Health and Human Services, said this morning, in her first news conference.
"And while they seem relatively simple, they are incredibly effective,'' she said. "Wash your hands, often. Wash your hands. Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. And don't go to work or school if you feel ill. Don't send your child to day-care, don't send your child to school, if you have flu-like symptoms. That will help contain the spread of this disease.''
Good enough for me:
Going to wash my hands right now.
(Obama's hand, in St. Louis today, by Gerald Herbert / AP)
Comments
His health policy is wash you hands and cover your mouth when you cough. His energy policy is to keep your tires inflated. This president gig isn't that hard after all
Posted by: Terry | April 29, 2009 9:05 PM
Yes, please do wash your hands! But do use doctors as your example. It's hard to believe, but the chances are only 50-50 that the doctor treating you in the hosital, even when performing your surgery, has washed his/her hands. The odds are the same as flipping a coin. Actually, it's worse. According to the National Quality Forum, hand-washing compliance rates at hospitals are generally LESS THAN 50 percent.
Hospitals are desperate to get doctors to simply wash their hands and are taking extraordinary means to try and influence them -- including termination threats and hidden cameras. Ethic Soup has an excellent article on this at:
http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/01/dont-kill-me-doctor-wash-your-hands.html
Posted by: Sharon McEachern | April 30, 2009 12:05 PM
You got that right Terry. For exhibit A, just look at the previous resident of the Oval Office: he proved that ANYBODY can be president, just as long as you don't care about how good they do the job. Numerous polls show that GW Bush will go down in history as one the the worst presidents of all time.
Posted by: BC | April 30, 2009 12:23 PM