Regina Benjamin
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| Regina Benjamin | |
 Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin , USPHS 18th Surgeon General of the United States |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 3, 2009 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
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| Preceded by | Richard Carmona |
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| Born | October 26, 1956 Mobile, Alabama |
| Alma mater | Xavier University of Louisiana University of Alabama at Birmingham Tulane University |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic[1] |
Vice Admiral Regina Marcia Benjamin, USPHS, (born October 26, 1956 in Mobile, Alabama[2]) is an American physician who currently serves as the 18th Surgeon General of the United States.[1] Benjamin previously ran a nonprofit medical clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
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[edit] Education
Benjamin attended Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans where she was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is also a member of the second class of the Morehouse School of Medicine.[1] She received her M.D. degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed her residency in family practice at the Medical Center of Central Georgia.[1] After entering solo practice in Bayou La Batre, Benjamin worked for several years in emergency rooms and nursing homes to keep her practice open. After receiving an MBA from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, she converted her office to a rural health clinic.[3]
[edit] Professional activities
Benjamin is former associate dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama's College of Medicine in Mobile, where she administers the Alabama AHEC program and previously directed its Telemedicine Program. She serves as the current president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. In 1995, she was elected to the American Medical Association's board of trustees, making her the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. She also served on the Florida A & M University Board of Trustees after being appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush.[4] From 2008-2009, she served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Federation of State Medical Boards, a national non-profit organization representing the 70 medical boards of the United States and its territories.[5]
Benjamin is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She was a Kellogg National Fellow and also a Rockefeller Next Generation Leader. She has served on a variety of boards and committees, including the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Catholic Health East, Medical Association of the State of Alabama, Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, Alabama State Committee of Public Health, Mobile County Medical Society, Alabama Rural Health Association, Leadership Alabama, Mobile Area Red Cross, Mercy Medical, Mobile Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Mobile, Physicians for Human Rights [6] and Deep South Girl Scout Council.[7]
She was appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act Committee and to the Council of Graduate Medical Education, and she is also a member of the "Step 3 Committee."[7] In Alabama, she formerly served as vice president of the Governor's Commission on Aging, and also formerly as a member of the Governor's Health Care Reform Task Force and the Governor's Task Force on Children's Health.[7]
Benjamin's clinic was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina and in 2006 by a fire on New Year's Day, one day before the scheduled reopening. She made headlines when she rebuilt the clinic a second time.[3]
[edit] Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic
Benjamin is founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Bayou La Batre is a small shrimping village along the Gulf Coast. Benjamin was the subject of a Reader's Digest article that chronicled her efforts to rebuild the clinic after Hurricane Katrina.[8]
[edit] Surgeon General of the United States
On July 13, 2009 President Barack Obama announced the choice of Benjamin for the position of Surgeon General of the United States[9][10][11][12] and as a Medical Director in the regular corps of the Public Health Service.[13] Benjamin was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on October 29, 2009.[13] On October 7, 2009, Benjamin was unanimously approved by the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.[14]
Benjamin accepted the President's nomination, and made clear of her dissatisfaction with the current health care system, in terms of both accessibility, as well as cost.[1] Also in accepting her nomination, Benjamin described her own hardships faced by disease and illness in her own family. She noted her brother, who died of HIV, as well as her father, who died of high blood pressure and diabetes, and her mother who died of lung cancer. All of which, she implied, were "preventable diseases."[15]
[edit] Criticism
Her political support for abortion rights has been cited as a source of controversy, since Benjamin, who is a Roman Catholic, has also received an award from the Holy See, a strong opponent of such procedures.[16] Benjamin also sits on the board of the Catholic Health Association[17] and is active in her local church.[18]
Benjamin's weight and personal health,[19] have also been a source of criticism.[20]
[edit] Awards
In 1998 she was the United States recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights.[3]
Benjamin was named by TIME magazine as one of the "Nation's 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under." She has been featured in a New York Times article, "Angel in a White Coat," and was chosen "Person of the Week" by ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, "Woman of the Year" by CBS This Morning, and "Woman of the Year" by People Magazine. She was also featured on the December 1999 cover of Clarity Magazine and received the 2000 National Caring Award, which was inspired by Mother Teresa.[7]
In 2006, she was awarded the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by Pope Benedict XVI.[21]
In 2008, Benjamin was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report.[22] In September 2008, she was one of that year's class of 25 in the MacArthur Fellows Program, nicknamed the "Genius Awards," receiving a grant of $500,000 over five years from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.[23]
2009 received the American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Woman in the News | Regina Marcia Benjamin A Doctor From the Bayou
- ^ Regina Benjamin Picked as Surgeon General
- ^ a b c "Obama Taps 'Genius' Doctor, Katrina Victim for Surgeon General". article (FOX News Network). 2009-07-13. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/13/obama-taps-alabama-doctor-surgeon-general/. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ Dr. Regina Benjamin's Background - FOX10tv.com
- ^ Benjamin RM. Planting Seeds of Excellence. Journal of Medical Licensure and Discipline. 95(1):3-4. 2009.
- ^ Physicians for Human Rights 2002 Annual Report
- ^ a b c d Regina M. Benjamin, MD - Bayou Clinic Homepage
- ^ Dr. Regina Benjamin - A Healing Force
- ^ The Doctor Is (Finally) In: Obama To Name Regina Benjamin
- ^ Alabama Doctor Tapped for Surgeon General
- ^ Obama picks Regina Benjamin as surgeon general
- ^ Obama on health care policy: ‘No free lunch’
- ^ a b Senate Confirms Regina Benjamin as Surgeon General
- ^ Senate Committee Approves Dr. Regina Benjamin
- ^ Regina Benjamin, Obama's Pick For Surgeon General
- ^ Obama's surgeon general pick: a Catholic who backs abortion rights
- ^ CHAUSA: The Catholic Health Association of the United States - CHA Board: Board of Trustees
- ^ Picks For NIH Head, Surgeon General Side With Obama On Reproductive Issues, Despite Faith
- ^ Critics Slam Overweight Surgeon General Pick, Regina Benjamin
- ^ Regina Benjamin once served as intern for CIA
- ^ "Obama Taps Ala. Doctor For Surgeon General". http://cbs5.com/national/obama.surgeon.general.2.1083264.html. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ "America's Best Leaders - Regina Benjamin". http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/best-leaders/2008/11/19/americas-best-leaders-regina-benjamin-small-town-primary-care-physician.html. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ Obama Names Regina Benjamin as Surgeon General
[edit] External links
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