WASHINGTON
— President Obama thanked health care professionals Wednesday for
fighting Ebola on the front lines in West Africa, calling them "heroes"
who are helping secure the United States.
"The best way to protect Americans from Ebola is to stop the outbreak at its source," Obama said in an East Room ceremony honoring doctors and nurses.
"If we are not dealing with this problem there, it will come here," Obama said.
The president lauded his guests for their "sense of duty," and of "serving a cause greater than themselves." He called them "shock troops" who should be applauded.
As the federal government argues with states over how to handle health workers returning from West Africa, Obama said they should be treated with "dignity and respect."
Obama and aides have criticized New Jersey, New York, and Illinois over quarantine policies for returning workers.
These doctors and nurses can help explain the challenge of Ebola to Americans, and how to beat it — "without fear, without hysteria, without misinformation," Obama said.
While peoples' concerns are understandable, Obama said, there is no reason for panic: "It's critical that we remain focused on the facts and on the science."
Nearly choking up at one point, Obama said he is "frustrated" by officials — whom he didn't name — who recommend actions that are the opposite of leadership.
Obama was introduced by Kent Brantly, a doctor who was treated and cured of Ebola after working in Liberia.
"He's gained a little weight since I last saw him," Obama joked.
Obama spoke to health care professionals after a Situation Room meeting with his public health and national security teams. The president said his United Nations ambassador, Samantha Power, reported on her recent trip to West Africa, where members of the military are helping build medical facilities.
The president met with health care workers hours after the Pentagon announced a new plan in which U.S. troops returning from anti-Ebola missions in West Africa will be placed in supervised isolation for 21 days.
Treatment of medical professionals may also meet a legal challenge.
Kaci Hickox, the nurse whose detention in Newark last week triggered the federal-state debate, said she plans to stop quarantining herself at her home in Maine, setting up a potential legal battle in the state.
"The best way to protect Americans from Ebola is to stop the outbreak at its source," Obama said in an East Room ceremony honoring doctors and nurses.
"If we are not dealing with this problem there, it will come here," Obama said.
The president lauded his guests for their "sense of duty," and of "serving a cause greater than themselves." He called them "shock troops" who should be applauded.
As the federal government argues with states over how to handle health workers returning from West Africa, Obama said they should be treated with "dignity and respect."
Obama and aides have criticized New Jersey, New York, and Illinois over quarantine policies for returning workers.
These doctors and nurses can help explain the challenge of Ebola to Americans, and how to beat it — "without fear, without hysteria, without misinformation," Obama said.
While peoples' concerns are understandable, Obama said, there is no reason for panic: "It's critical that we remain focused on the facts and on the science."
Nearly choking up at one point, Obama said he is "frustrated" by officials — whom he didn't name — who recommend actions that are the opposite of leadership.
Obama was introduced by Kent Brantly, a doctor who was treated and cured of Ebola after working in Liberia.
"He's gained a little weight since I last saw him," Obama joked.
Obama spoke to health care professionals after a Situation Room meeting with his public health and national security teams. The president said his United Nations ambassador, Samantha Power, reported on her recent trip to West Africa, where members of the military are helping build medical facilities.
The president met with health care workers hours after the Pentagon announced a new plan in which U.S. troops returning from anti-Ebola missions in West Africa will be placed in supervised isolation for 21 days.
Treatment of medical professionals may also meet a legal challenge.
Kaci Hickox, the nurse whose detention in Newark last week triggered the federal-state debate, said she plans to stop quarantining herself at her home in Maine, setting up a potential legal battle in the state.
From USATODAY.COM
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