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show first aired August 23, 2007
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1012
Some of the most important events in American history have a very strong link to the health care of the time...and over the past year we’ve taken an in depth look at a few. On July 2, 1881...less than 4 months after he was inaugurated President of The United States...James A. Garfield was shot in the back by a would-be assassin. We say “would-be” because we now know that it wasn’t really the bullet that killed the president. On this week’s Health Show, we’ll listen again to an historic look at the death of President Garfield. We’ll also look back at a health care disaster that officials are still studying so they can prevent a repeat performance: the great flu pandemic of1918. And check on a disease that most Americans think is just a part of history.
listen to this story in RealAudio 25:00
THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD
History tells us that President James A. Garfield died over125 years ago at the hands of an assassin. However, in his book James A. Garfield, Dr. Ira Rutkow says he actually died at the hands of his doctors. This was a moment in history when America was about to take a giant leap forward in the practice of medicine...just not quite in time for President Garfield. The Health Show's Jim Horne spoke with Dr. Rutkow, a professor of surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and a medical historian who’s book is part of Times Books “American Presidents” series. President Garfield, he explains, was not the victim of a wide-ranging conspiracy, but of a lone assassin named Charles Guiteau, a man who had been seen many times at the state department and white house expecting to be given a patronage job.
The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918
Those who are aware of 1918 flu epidemic will always take "a touch of the flu" quite seriously. That year, the flu bludgeoned the world's population, killing more than died in battle during WWI, WWII, the Korean and Vietnam wars combined.
NY Times Science Reporter Gina Kolata wrote a book on the topic called, "Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It". The Health Show's Susan Arbetter asked her what happened to people who got this flu.
Post Polio Syndrome
As the theme of this week's show has been history, we have one more topic to bring up. Most Americans probably think of polio as history...a part of the past. But of the 1 millions Polio survivors living in the United States, many are experiencing continuing problems from the disease. The Health Show's Bob Barrett explains.
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