Once upon a time, in a land not very far away, was a community located along the banks of a river. The citizens were distressed because so many people were drowning in the river. So they developed ambulance speedboats, impressive resuscitation procedures, and intensive care units. Sometimes the rescues worked, but often they did not. Either way, their heroic medical efforts fully occupied their time, attention, and resources. Then one day someone asked, "Why don't these people learn to swim?"
From The Healthy Mind, Health Body Handbook by David Sobel and Robert Ornstein
I think this is a great example of what Public Health is all about - the importance of prevention.
What a great example of empowering people. To me, public health is all about helping people help themselves. In this example, if we could teach people to swim they wouldn't be drowning in the river. Of course, I've heard another version of this story where the suggested solution was to put up a fence . . . something to think about!
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