奥巴马演讲 Strengthening Our Health Care Workforce 1

Hello, everybody!  All right, everybody have a seat.  I got a lot to say here.  (Laughter.)  First of all, I want to just thank Becky Patton for the extraordinary work that she has done on behalf of nurses, on behalf of patients, on behalf of the country.  Thank you so much.  We are proud of everything that she’s done.  (Applause.)  And her mom is in the house -- so, thanks, Mom.  (Applause.)  Good job.  Good job with Becky.

I want to thank Marla Weston, the CEO of the American Nurses Association.  And I also want to acknowledge the presence here of Dr. Mary Wakefield, who is our -- (applause) -- for those of you who are not familiar, she is the administrator of HRSA and our highest-ranking nurse in the administration -- (applause) -- and does absolutely great work.

Now, I want to tell you, it is an honor to speak to the ANA, representing more than 3 million registered nurses across the country.  Part of the reason I’m here is because I promised I was going to come, and I told to Becky that I don’t break promises to nurses because you never know when I’m going to need a shot.  (Laughter.)  And I don’t want them working that needle all kind of -- “I can’t find a vein.”  (Laughter.)  So I’m keeping my promises.

But it’s not just out of fear.  (Laughter.)  It’s also because I love nurses.  I love nurses.  (Applause.)  Now, I’m not just saying that because I’m talking to a roomful of nurses.  There are representatives from Illinois here in the house -- (applause) -- and they will testify（证明） I loved nurses before I got to Washington.  (Applause.)  And I don’t think I’m alone in that, because virtually all of us, at one time or another in our lives, have known the care and the skill that you offer.  In hours of need, in moments where people are most vulnerable, most worried, nurses are there, doing difficult and lifesaving work.  (Applause.)

And you don’t just provide clean bandages（绷带） or an intravenous（静脉的） line.  A nurse will hold your hand sometime, or offer a voice of calm, or that knowing glance that says things are going to be okay.

And when Malia was born, I remember vividly the nurses who took care of Michelle and our new baby.  The doctor who delivered is actually one of our best friends, but she was there about 10 minutes.  (Laughter.)  And the nurse was there the whole time tending to this new family of ours.  (Applause.)  That was a happy day.  Now, there was another day when our youngest daughter, Sasha -- she was three months old -- was diagnosed with meningitis（脑膜炎） .  And it was nurses who walked us through what was happening, and who, along with the doctors, helped make sure that Sasha was all right and that her father did not have a breakdown.  (Laughter.)

So, as a father, as a husband, I will forever be in debt to the women and men of your profession.  And I know that millions of others feel the same way.  America’s nurses are the beating heart of our medical system.  You’re on the front lines -- (applause.)  You are on the front lines of health care in small clinics and in large hospitals, in rural towns and in big cities, all across America.

And it’s because you know our health care system so well that you’ve been such a fierce advocate for its reform.  (Applause.)  Because after all, you care for patients who end up in the emergency room, or in surgery, because they couldn’t afford the preventive care that would have made more invasive and costly treatment unnecessary.  You are asked not only to take care of patients -- you’ve got to navigate a tangle（混乱状态，纠纷） of rules and forms and paperwork that drive up costs and prevent you from doing the best job possible.  (Applause.)

You’re the ones who see the terror in a parent’s eyes when an insurance company bureaucrat（官僚主义） has denied coverage for a child’s treatment.  And you’re the ones who have to comfort people who are wracked with worry not only about getting better, but also about paying for health care because they’ve hit a cap on benefits or their insurance doesn’t cover a preexisting condition.

So nurses have seen the consequences of our decades-old failure to reform our health care system -- the rising costs, the increased uninsured, the mixed up incentives（激励，奖励） , the overburdened providers, and a complex system that has been working a lot better for insurance companies than it’s working for the American people -- or for providers.  (Applause.)

And that's why, almost a year ago, nurses from across the country came to the White House to help make the case for reform -- for making coverage more affordable, and extending coverage to millions without it; for giving doctors and nurses more freedom to help their patients; for providing families and small businesses with more control over their health insurance; and for ending the worst and most abusive（辱骂的，虐待的） practices of the insurance industry.

And after a long and tough fight, we succeeded -- yes, we did -- in passing health care reform.  (Applause.)  Thanks to you.  (Applause.)  And that reform will make a positive difference in the lives of the American people.