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House staffer catches staph infection in congressional gym
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04/14/09 02:07 PM ET
The House of Representatives gym is used by the mighty of the land — White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, for example — but it’s not immune to one of the ugliest diseases of shared spaces: a staph infection.
Capitol Hill is abuzz with discussion of this unpleasant new arrival.
Here’s an e-mail from an anonymous committee staffer that was circulating on Monday: “Theres [sic] a rumor someone in the House gym contracted a staph infection. [T]he gym is still open and none of the employees will answer questions about it. This is a serious f---ing problem if its [sic] true.”
It’s true.
A statement from the House Chief Administrative Officer released to The Hill on Tuesday confirmed it: “A House employee has reportedly contracted Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). That House employee is also a member of the House Staff Fitness Center (HSFC).
“As a precautionary measure and in accordance with the recommendations of the Office of the Attending Physician, the HSFC has thoroughly disinfected the House gym ... The HSFC is in the process of notifying its members of the possible exposure and providing educational resources for gym members.”
In an e-mail sent to House employees Tuesday by Kathy Zumbar, the House gym’s wellness and fitness coordinator, the infected employee will stay away from the gym until the condition has healed completely. The gym has been scoured the place clean with “Simple Green D Pro 3 disinfectant, virucidal, fungicidal.”
There are new preventative measures in place, including signage reminding patrons to disinfect equipment after each use and more paper towel dispensers.
WebMD says staph infections often begin with a small cut, which gets infected with bacteria. Infections can range from the “simple boil” to “flesh-eating” conditions. The staph infection is contagious if the wound is draining, and can be especially dangerous “if people share towels or other items that are contaminated.”
Some lawmakers who sleep in their offices shower in the House gym, which has been home to high drama in recent weeks.
Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) last month fainted while working out in the House gym and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency heart surgery. One of the first to rush to Olson’s side was Emanuel.
Stephanopoulos, Wentworth caught ‘tickling’ by daughter
Ali Wentworth, actress and wife of ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos, doesn’t hold back.
During her weekly appearance on Oprah’s “Friday Live” last week, she revealed that she and George were recently caught having “marital relations” by their 6-year-old daughter, Elliott.
When Elliott asked, “Daddy, what are you doing to Mommy?” Daddy was temporarily speechless, but Wentworth responded brightly, “Daddy’s just tickling me.”
The subterfuge didn’t last, though, because the ABC newsman, who quit his White House spinning job years ago and now uncovers (if that’s the right word) the truth, corrected her, saying, “We’re making love.”
Wentworth has talked frankly about sex on the “Friday Live” show. Last October she discussed pornography and sex addiction in light of actor David Duchovny’s stint in rehab. Wentworth told viewers she’s fine with porn, but would not be fine if her husband visited an X-rated Internet chat room. That would be cheating, she claimed.
“I like it,” Wentworth said of sex. “I don’t love it. I don’t need to have it 10 times a day. I’m happier with a Klondike bar sometimes.”
Rep. Kildee recovering from knee surgery
Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) is recovering quite smoothly from knee replacement surgery last week at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Va.
Many of his colleagues know that the 17-term congressman has been walking around the Capitol with a cane as of late.
“It was a huge success,” said Peter Karafotas, Kildee’s deputy chief of staff, boasting that his boss was already mobile just one day after surgery.
Kildee could have shared Jell-O with Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who also had knee replacement surgery last week at the same hospital.
Rep. Christensen drops ‘Christian’ in surname
Virgin Islands Del. Donna Christensen (D) has dropped the “Christian” maiden name that has graced her long surname, giving the seven-term lawmaker a catchy “Christian-Christensen” ring. But it was too much of a mouthful, according to the delegate.
Though she could pull a Hillary Clinton — the current secretary of State had removed the “Rodham” from her name when her husband ran for president, only later to resurrect it — her office says the first “Christian” is gone for good.
Monique Clendinen Watson, Christensen’s spokeswoman (who also bears a lengthy name), said, “It was just too long. It was always hard to say. It was just too much of a tongue-tie. After a while she just used her married name, Christensen.”
Watson said when her boss first came to Capitol Hill she was “Donna Green,” having taken the last name of her first husband. She later married, coincidentally, Chris Christensen.
Clendinen Watson noted the shorter name will be easier to see in panel hearings: “When you do the name plates in committee rooms, it’s a lot to put on one line.”
Fran Drescher wants to create a 21st century that is ‘female-friendly’
Lobbyists looking for a fresh way to approach lawmakers might sign up for the Fran Drescher School of Influence.
The actress best known as “The Nanny” spoke at the National Press Club on Tuesday about her battle with uterine cancer and efforts to get women’s health legislation passed.
When lobbying Congress for the Gynecologic Cancer Awareness and Education Act two years ago, Drescher used her Queens vocabulary to get the message across.
“I e-mailed 10 senators, and I said, ‘Let’s not make this the battle of the balls, because the only people who lose are the ladies,’ ” said Drescher, who started the advocacy organization Cancer Schmancer. “And somehow they responded to it.”
Drescher, who earlier this year threw her name out as a Senate replacement for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, also recalled meeting former first lady Laura Bush during the waning months of her time in the White House.
It was then that she began to lobby for a State Department appointment.
She said she told the former first lady, “Lame duck, schmame duck — I said that to them,” and made her case.
Drescher is now a State Department public diplomacy envoy for women’s health issues, and said her grand vision is “to create a 21st century that is more female-friendly.”
Capitol Hill is abuzz with discussion of this unpleasant new arrival.
Here’s an e-mail from an anonymous committee staffer that was circulating on Monday: “Theres [sic] a rumor someone in the House gym contracted a staph infection. [T]he gym is still open and none of the employees will answer questions about it. This is a serious f---ing problem if its [sic] true.”
It’s true.
A statement from the House Chief Administrative Officer released to The Hill on Tuesday confirmed it: “A House employee has reportedly contracted Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). That House employee is also a member of the House Staff Fitness Center (HSFC).
In an e-mail sent to House employees Tuesday by Kathy Zumbar, the House gym’s wellness and fitness coordinator, the infected employee will stay away from the gym until the condition has healed completely. The gym has been scoured the place clean with “Simple Green D Pro 3 disinfectant, virucidal, fungicidal.”
There are new preventative measures in place, including signage reminding patrons to disinfect equipment after each use and more paper towel dispensers.
WebMD says staph infections often begin with a small cut, which gets infected with bacteria. Infections can range from the “simple boil” to “flesh-eating” conditions. The staph infection is contagious if the wound is draining, and can be especially dangerous “if people share towels or other items that are contaminated.”
Some lawmakers who sleep in their offices shower in the House gym, which has been home to high drama in recent weeks.
Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) last month fainted while working out in the House gym and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency heart surgery. One of the first to rush to Olson’s side was Emanuel.
Stephanopoulos, Wentworth caught ‘tickling’ by daughter
Ali Wentworth, actress and wife of ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos, doesn’t hold back.
During her weekly appearance on Oprah’s “Friday Live” last week, she revealed that she and George were recently caught having “marital relations” by their 6-year-old daughter, Elliott.
When Elliott asked, “Daddy, what are you doing to Mommy?” Daddy was temporarily speechless, but Wentworth responded brightly, “Daddy’s just tickling me.”
The subterfuge didn’t last, though, because the ABC newsman, who quit his White House spinning job years ago and now uncovers (if that’s the right word) the truth, corrected her, saying, “We’re making love.”
Wentworth has talked frankly about sex on the “Friday Live” show. Last October she discussed pornography and sex addiction in light of actor David Duchovny’s stint in rehab. Wentworth told viewers she’s fine with porn, but would not be fine if her husband visited an X-rated Internet chat room. That would be cheating, she claimed.
“I like it,” Wentworth said of sex. “I don’t love it. I don’t need to have it 10 times a day. I’m happier with a Klondike bar sometimes.”
Rep. Kildee recovering from knee surgery
Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) is recovering quite smoothly from knee replacement surgery last week at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Va.
Many of his colleagues know that the 17-term congressman has been walking around the Capitol with a cane as of late.
“It was a huge success,” said Peter Karafotas, Kildee’s deputy chief of staff, boasting that his boss was already mobile just one day after surgery.
Kildee could have shared Jell-O with Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who also had knee replacement surgery last week at the same hospital.
Rep. Christensen drops ‘Christian’ in surname
Virgin Islands Del. Donna Christensen (D) has dropped the “Christian” maiden name that has graced her long surname, giving the seven-term lawmaker a catchy “Christian-Christensen” ring. But it was too much of a mouthful, according to the delegate.
Though she could pull a Hillary Clinton — the current secretary of State had removed the “Rodham” from her name when her husband ran for president, only later to resurrect it — her office says the first “Christian” is gone for good.
Monique Clendinen Watson, Christensen’s spokeswoman (who also bears a lengthy name), said, “It was just too long. It was always hard to say. It was just too much of a tongue-tie. After a while she just used her married name, Christensen.”
Watson said when her boss first came to Capitol Hill she was “Donna Green,” having taken the last name of her first husband. She later married, coincidentally, Chris Christensen.
Clendinen Watson noted the shorter name will be easier to see in panel hearings: “When you do the name plates in committee rooms, it’s a lot to put on one line.”
Fran Drescher wants to create a 21st century that is ‘female-friendly’
Lobbyists looking for a fresh way to approach lawmakers might sign up for the Fran Drescher School of Influence.
The actress best known as “The Nanny” spoke at the National Press Club on Tuesday about her battle with uterine cancer and efforts to get women’s health legislation passed.
When lobbying Congress for the Gynecologic Cancer Awareness and Education Act two years ago, Drescher used her Queens vocabulary to get the message across.
“I e-mailed 10 senators, and I said, ‘Let’s not make this the battle of the balls, because the only people who lose are the ladies,’ ” said Drescher, who started the advocacy organization Cancer Schmancer. “And somehow they responded to it.”
Drescher, who earlier this year threw her name out as a Senate replacement for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, also recalled meeting former first lady Laura Bush during the waning months of her time in the White House.
It was then that she began to lobby for a State Department appointment.
She said she told the former first lady, “Lame duck, schmame duck — I said that to them,” and made her case.
Drescher is now a State Department public diplomacy envoy for women’s health issues, and said her grand vision is “to create a 21st century that is more female-friendly.”
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