Sen. Frist Emerges as ‘Chief’ Spokesperson During Anthrax Scare
Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a former heart surgeon, has "found himself in the spotlight" as Congress's "chief" spokesperson during the anthrax scare that has hit Capitol Hill and the rest of the country, Roll Call reports. After anthrax was found last week in a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Frist "sprung into action," creating an "information clearinghouse on his Web site and holing up with health and bioterrorism experts to determine the level of contamination" in the Senate office buildings. He also advised scientists on explaining the situation to the public and the media, and has received "credit" for "helping to keep a potentially combustible situation relatively calm." Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) called a bioterrorism presentation Frist gave to senators "phenomenal," adding, "He was able to take complicated information, get at the essence of what was important, and then present it in a way that was understandable and at the right emotional level." Roll Call reports that Frist has a "history of brandishing his medical skills in the Capitol hallways," as last month he "rushed" to the side of Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) after he collapsed on the Senate floor, and in 1998 he was "one of the first doctors on the scene" when a gunman shot and killed two Capitol police officers (Preston, Capitol Hill, 10/22).
A Doctor in the House (and Senate)
Meanwhile, Roll Call reports that lawmakers are also praising John Eisold, the Capitol's chief physician, for his actions before and since the anthrax scare hit Capitol Hill. After becoming head of the Capitol's Office of the Attending Physician in 1995, Eisold created an "elite medical response team comprised of the Hill's trained medical personnel" to respond to emergency situations. He also decided to stockpile the antibiotic Cipro in the event of an anthrax attack, a move that paid off last week as more than 3,000 congressional staffers, lawmakers, reporters and visitors lined up for nasal swabs and the drug. "I think having a big supply of Cipro calmed the staff because they were worried that if they couldn't get it, that could start a run on it," Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) said. Frist said that Eisold has "handled the surge capacity of a bioweapons threat in a superb fashion. What we are seeing here could go on in any community in the United States of America with hundreds of people who want to be tested and hundreds of people who want antibiotics -- and he and his staff have risen to that challenge" (Chappie/Preston, Roll Call, 10/22).