James W. Holsinger

Dr. James W. Holsinger, Jr. is an American physician. On May 24, 2007, President George W. Bush announced his nomination of Holsinger to become the eighteenth Surgeon General of the United States.

Holsinger has held posts related to public health in the federal government and for the state of Kentucky, as well as teaching at the University of Kentucky and acting as chancellor of its Medical Center. His nomination has encountered opposition from LGBT organizations based on allegations that he is hostile to homosexuals.

Education

Holsinger has a doctorate in anatomy and physiology and a medical degree from Duke University. He also holds a master’s degree in hospital financial management from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky in human studies as well as a master's degree in biblical studies from Asbury Theological Seminary.

Career

Department of Veterans Affairs

Holsinger served for 26 years in the Veterans Administration, renamed in 1989 as the Department of Veterans Affairs, from which he retired on July 13, 1994. [2] During his career there, he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as Chief Medical Director of the Veterans Health Administration on August 6, 1990. In 1992, he became Undersecretary for Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

While Holsinger was the chief medical director, the department was criticized for the quality of the care it provided. In 1991, Holsinger acknowledged that inadequate care had caused the deaths of six patients at its hospital in North Chicago, Illinois. [3] Later that year, a federal health-care investigator, testifying before a Congressional subcommittee, reported finding problems at more than 30 other veterans hospitals. [4] Holsinger responded that the system was "obviously not perfect" but that it provided "first-rate care".

United States Army Reserve

Holsinger served for over 31 years in the United States Army Reserve. In the course of his Reserve career he was assigned to the Joint Staff as Assistant to the Director for Logistics in 1989, and was promoted to Major General in 1990. Holsinger retired from the United States Army Reserve in 1993.

University of Kentucky

From 1994 to 2003, Holsinger served as Chancellor of the University of Kentucky Medical Center with responsibility for the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Sciences, and Dentistry. In addition he provided oversight for the School of Public Health, four degree-granting graduate centers, University Hospital, and the University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

After spending two years in Kentucky state government, he returned to the University of Kentucky faculty on December 10, 2005. He currently serves as the Charles T. Wethington Jr. Chair in the Health Sciences at the University. His faculty appointments include Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health and Health Services Management in the College of Public Health; and Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Anatomy in the College of Medicine.

Kentucky state government

On December 9, 2003, the Governor of Kentucky, Ernie Fletcher, appointed Holsinger as Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In his role as Secretary, Holsinger had responsibility at the executive level for the management of the state’s health and social services programs including the Medicaid program, Public Health system, Department for Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services and Department for Community Based Services, as well as several commissions.

Nomination for Surgeon General

In the press release announcing his nomination of Holsinger, Bush stated:

As America's chief health educator, he will be charged with providing the best scientific information available on how Americans can make smart choices that improve their health and reduce their risk of illness and injury. Dr. Holsinger will particularly focus his efforts on educating parents and children about childhood obesity, a serious epidemic that decreases quality of life and burdens our healthcare system. I am confident that Dr. Holsinger will help our Nation confront this challenge and many others to ensure that Americans live longer, better, and healthier lives. [5].

The nomination is subject to confirmation by the United States Senate. It will first be considered in the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Religious affiliation

Holsinger and his wife were commissioned by First United Methodist Church to join with a small group which organized and chartered Hope Springs Church, the first new United Methodist Church in the Lexington area in many years. Hope Springs is located in a warehouse near downtown Lexington where it serves a broadly diverse population. As a lay person, Holsinger has served in a variety of areas in the life of the Church. Since leaving his major administrative responsibilities at the end of 2005, he has assisted with the administrative needs of this growing church serving as the unpaid administrator for the past year.

Views on smoking

While Holsinger was the chief medical director of the Department of Veterans Affairs, he "instituted smoking restrictions to protect the health of non-smokers who seek care in its facilities... 'Smoking is responsible for more than one of every six deaths in the U.S. and remains the single most preventable cause of death in the country,' Holsinger said (Kentucky Post 1992)."

During his tenure as Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Holsinger helped raise the excise tax on cigarettes and supported tobacco-control initiatives. "He suggested 75 cents a pack; [Kentucky] got only to 30 cents [6]."

Views on obesity

Holsinger has been focused on obesity for several years,supporting State Senator Alice Forgy Kerr's (R-Lexington) "groundbreaking 2005 Kentucky law that limited junk food access in schools". [7]

Views on homosexuality

United Methodist Church 2004

Holsinger has been active in the United Methodist Church. As a member of its Judicial Council, the highest judicial body within the UMC, he joined with the majority in a controversial decision arising from the attempt to remove an openly lesbian pastor from her post. On April 29, 2004, by a vote of six to three, the Council ruled:

Since the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be accepted as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church. [8]

In 1991, Holsinger had resigned from a 4 year UMC panel on homosexuality; Time reported that "James Holsinger ... quit the study committee last February because he felt certain its conclusions would follow liberal lines." [9]

The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and other LGBT Health organizations have expressed public concern regarding Dr. Holsinger’s association with a church which supports efforts to change sexual orientation, the Hope Springs Community Church in Lexington, Kentucky, which “ministers to people who no longer wish to be gay or lesbian,” according to its pastor, Rev. David Calhoun. In reference to Dr. Holsinger's nomination, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force called such a practice "nothing short of torture" for gays.

Women's Health Center 2002

While Holsinger was Chancellor of the University of Kentucky Medical Center, The Women's Health Center held a session on lesbian health during the fifth Women's Health in Kentucky conference. University of Kentucky officials said that a session on lesbian health issues was requested on evaluations. Although two state senators had harsh criticism for the break out session, Dr. Holsinger stated, "I appreciate the concern of individuals, but I think it's important to educate health-care professionals on the issues that surround lesbians. It's important professionals have the knowledge base to care for these patients in a quality manner (Blackford 2002)."

Phyllis Nash, vice chancellor of the medical center said, "His reaction in support could not have been any stronger. He said, as health care providers, we have to be prepared to meet the health needs of anyone who walks into the door [10]."

White Paper 1991

Holsinger is named as the sole author of a 1991 white paper entitled “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality,” ostensibly prepared for the Committee to Study Homosexuality of the United Methodist Church. The article's argument repeated refers to the "absolutely separation" of the alimentary and reproductive tracts. Holsinger describes numerous health problems of the "homosexual lifestyle" based on their violation of this separation. He concludes the paper with

"The logical complementarity of the human sexes has been so recognized in our culture that it has entered our vocabulary in the form of naming various pipe fittings either the male pipe fitting or the female pipe fitting depending upon which one interlocks within the other. When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and disease may occur as noted above. Therefore, based on the simplest known anatomy and physiology, when dealing with the complementarity of the human sexes, one can simply say, Res ipsa loquitur - the thing speaks for itself! [sic]"}}

According to the President of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Robert Garofalo, MD, MPH, “while the treatise purportedly cites medical texts to argue that sex between persons of the same gender is medically inadvisable, it does not represent the current medical science.”

"Holly Babin, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Holsinger's writings reflected scientific data from the 1980s. It should be noted that in 1991, homosexuals were banned from the military and several years before that, homosexuality and Haitian nationality were considered risk factors for HIV/AIDS, Babin said in a statement. 'Over the last 20 years, a clearer understanding of these issues has been achieved. Any new compilation of scientific information on health issues facing homosexual populations would have a substantially different focus.'"[11]

References

• President Bush Nominates Dr. James Holsinger Jr. as Surgeon General, White House press release, May 24, 2007.
• UK, State Officials Praise Nomination of James Holsinger, University of Kentucky press release, May 25, 2007.
• UK colleagues happy about appointment, Lexington Herald Leader, May 26, 2007.
• Pick Him: Holsinger Good Choice for Surgeon General, Lexington Herald Leader editorial, May 26, 2007.
• Holsinger familiar with obesity issue Lexington Herald Leader, may 26,2007.
• Smoking Ban Opposed for Veterans Hospitals. The Kentucky Post January 16, 1992
• Blackford, Linda. Todd Backs Lesbian Health Event. Herald-Leader Education Writer. July 20, 2002