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Rachel Levine

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Rachel Levine
Official portrait, 2021
17th Assistant Secretary for Health
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 26, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
SecretaryXavier Becerra
Preceded byBrett Giroir
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health
In office
July 2017 – January 23, 2021
GovernorTom Wolf
Preceded byKaren Murphy
Succeeded byAlison Beam (acting)
Personal details
Born (1957-10-28) October 28, 1957 (age 67)
Spouse
Martha Peaslee
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 2013)​
Children2
EducationHarvard University (BS)
Tulane University (MD)
Uniformed service
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Years of service2021–present
RankAdmiral

Rachel Leland Levine (/ləˈviːn/; born October 28, 1957)[1] is an American pediatrician, and a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, who has been the United States assistant secretary for health since March 26, 2021.[2] She is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine, and previously served as the Pennsylvania physician general from 2015 to 2017, then as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health from 2017 to 2021.[3] Levine is one of only a few openly transgender government officials in the United States,[4] and is the first to hold an office that requires Senate confirmation.[5][6] On October 19, 2021, Levine became the first openly transgender four-star officer in the nation's eight uniformed services.[7] She is also the first female four-star admiral in the commissioned corps.[8][9]

Early life and education

Born on October 28, 1957, Levine is originally from Wakefield, Massachusetts.[1][10] Her parents, Melvin and Lillian Levine, were both lawyers.[11] She has a sister, Bonnie Levine, who is four years older.[11] Levine is Jewish and grew up attending Hebrew school.[12] Levine earned a high school diploma from Belmont Hill School in Belmont, Massachusetts.[13]

Levine graduated from Harvard College and the Tulane University School of Medicine and completed a residency in pediatrics and fellowship in adolescent medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, New York.[14]

Career

Levine had a fellowship at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital from 1988 to 1993[14] where she trained in pediatrics.[15] After moving from Manhattan to central Pennsylvania in 1993,[14] she joined the staff at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. During her tenure there, she created Penn State Hershey Medical Center's adolescent medicine division and eating disorders clinic. She was in charge of the latter when she was nominated for the position of Pennsylvania Physician General in 2015.[14]

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Levine briefing COVID-19 measures with Gov. Tom Wolf at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in June 2020

In 2015, Levine was nominated by Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Wolf to be Pennsylvania's Physician General.[4] In her capacity as Physician General, Levine signed an order that allowed law enforcement officers to carry the anti-overdose medication naloxone. She has credited the drug with saving the lives of almost 1,000 opioid users who had overdosed.[4] She served as Physician General until 2017.

In July 2017, Governor Wolf appointed Levine as Secretary of Health,[16] and she was unanimously confirmed by the Pennsylvania State Senate.[4]

COVID-19 response

During 2020 and until January 23, 2021, Levine led the public health response on COVID-19 in Pennsylvania as the state secretary of health.[15] She worked closely on a daily basis with the FEMA director and led a daily press briefing.[16] Levine also came in for criticism over her handling of the pandemic, particularly in regard to nursing home patients.[17][18]

On March 18, 2020, Levine directed nursing homes to admit new patients, including "stable patients who have had the COVID-19 virus” despite the warnings of nursing home trade groups that such policies "could unnecessarily cost more lives."[19] Although the stated purpose of this decision was to alleviate overcrowding in "acute care settings”, according to a team of reporters from the USA Today Network and Bucks County Courier Times, hospitals in most Pennsylvania counties were not experiencing overcrowding at the time.[19] Spotlight PA, also noted that, under Levine, Pennsylvania had a "robust and aggressive" plan to protect nursing home residents but it "was never fully implemented".[20] Spotlight PA also repeatedly reported on erroneous reporting of COVID deaths and other data by state officials.[21][22][23][24]

On May 12, 2020, WHTM reported that following the change in nursing home admissions policies, Levine had moved her own mother out of a nursing home.[25] Levine defended the move: " 'My mother requested, and my sister and I as her children complied to move her to another location during the Covid-19 outbreak,' Levine said. 'My mother is 95 years old. She is very intelligent and more than competent to make her own decisions.' "[25] By the summer of 2020, around 70% of COVID deaths in Pennsylvania were in nursing homes, leading to renewed criticism that state officials were "letting infected patients back into nursing homes" and also that the state had stopped health inspections nursing homes.[26][27]

The issue of Levine's mother and the high COVID death toll in Pennsylvania nursing homes would momentarily be highlighted nationally after President Biden nominated Levine for the post of US Assistant Secretary for Health.[28][29] As Newsweek reported, "The criticism ... has come from a few Republican leaders ..."[28] Newsweek also fact-checked the claim that Levine put COVID-19 patients into nursing homes, concluding the claim was false and "There is no evidence to support [Representative Marjorie Taylor] Greene's claim that Levine placed coronavirus-positive patients in nursing home facilities, thus likely contributing 'to the thousands of elderly deaths in Pennsylvania.' "[28] Questions about missing nursing home COVID death and case data would also come up again during Levine's confirmation hearings.[23][24]

Biden administration

Levine with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra after being sworn in as assistant secretary for health, March 27, 2021

On February 13, 2021, President Joe Biden formally nominated Levine to be assistant secretary for health.[30] Her confirmation hearing was on February 25 with the Senate HELP Committee.[31] On March 17, the committee voted 13–9 to advance the nomination to a full Senate vote.[32] On March 24, the Senate voted 52–48, with two Republicans joining all members of the Democratic caucus, to confirm her nomination.[33] She is the first openly transgender person to hold an office that requires Senate confirmation;[5][6] earlier transgender federal officials like Amanda Simpson held offices which did not require Senate confirmation.[34][35]

On October 19, 2021, Levine was commissioned as a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, becoming the first openly transgender four-star officer in any of the United States uniformed services.[7] She is also the first female four-star admiral in the commissioned corps.[9][8]

Personal life

Levine has two children.[36] She transitioned in 2011.[37] Levine and her ex-wife, Martha Peaslee Levine,[38][36] married in 1988, during Levine's last year of medical school,[11][4] and divorced in 2013.[39][4] She has served as a board member of Equality Pennsylvania, an LGBT rights organization.[4]

Awards and decorations


Public Health Service Presidential Unit Citation
Public Health Service COVID-19 Pandemic Campaign Medal Public Health Service Regular Corps Ribbon Commissioned Corps Training Ribbon
Assistant Secretary for Health Badge Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Badge

[40]

Publications

  • Fassbender, Laura; Zander, Gwendolyn B.; Levine, Rachel L. (July 2019). "Beyond rescue, treatment, and prevention: understanding the broader impact of the opioid epidemic at the state level". The American Journal of Managed Care. 25 (13 Suppl): S239–S240. PMID 31361432.
  • Ashburn, Michael A.; Levine, Rachel L. (October 1, 2017). "Pennsylvania State Core Competencies for Education on Opioids and Addiction". Pain Medicine. 18 (10): 1890–1894. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw348. PMID 28339890. S2CID 205292295.
  • Mahr, Fauzia; Farahmand, Pantea; Bixler, Edward O.; Domen, Ronald E; Moser, Eileen M.; Nadeem, Tania; Levine, Rachel L.; Halmi, Katherine A. (May 2015). "A national survey of eating disorder training: National Survey of Eating Disorder Training". International Journal of Eating Disorders. 48 (4): 443–445. doi:10.1002/eat.22335. PMID 25047025.
  • McFillin, R. K.; Cahn, S. C.; Burks, V. S.; Levine, M. P.; Loney, S. L.; Levine, R. L. (2012). "Social Information-Processing and Coping in Adolescent Females Diagnosed With an Eating Disorder: Toward a Greater Understanding of Control". Eating Disorders. 20 (1): 42–59. doi:10.1080/10640266.2012.635565. PMID 22188059. S2CID 205730298. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  • Levine, M. M. P.; Levine, R. L. (2010). "Chapter 7 – Psychiatric Medication: Management, Myths, and Mistakes". In Maine, M.; McGilley, B. H.; Bunnell, D. W. (eds.). Treatment of Eating Disorders; Bridging the Research – Practice Gap. Academic Press. pp. 111–126. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-375668-8.10007-5. ISBN 978-0-12-375668-8.
  • Levine, M. P.; Gershenson, B.; Falkinburg, K.; Levine, R. (April 30 – May 2, 2009). Eating disorders in anabaptist patients: Offering insights into the etiology of eating disorders (PDF). International Conference on Eating Disorders 2009. Cancun, Mexico: Academy for Eating Disorders. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  • Levine, M. P.; Levine, R. L. (March 4, 2008). "The Medical Minute: Eating disorder awareness". Penn State News. Hershey, PA. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  • Peters, T. E.; Parvin, M.; Petersen, C.; Faircloth, V. C.; Levine, R. L. (2007). "A case report of Wernicke's encephalopathy in a pediatric patient with anorexia nervosa – restricting type". Journal of Adolescent Health. 40 (4): 376–383. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.11.140. PMID 17367738. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  • Levine, R. L. (2002). "Endocrine aspects of eating disorders in adolescents". Adolescent Medicine. 13 (1): 129–144. PMID 11841960. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  • Ostrov, B. E.; Levine, R. L. (1998). "16. Interactions of puberty with rheumatic diseases, contraception and gynaecological issues". In Isenberg, D. K.; Miller, J. J. III (eds.). Adolescent Rheumatology. Taylor & Francis. pp. 301–324. ISBN 978-1-853-17553-4.
  • Henderson, C. J.; Ostrov, B. E.; Levine, R. L.; Lovell, D. J. (1998). "17. Nutrition and the adolescent with rheumatic disease". In Isenberg, D. K.; Miller, J. J. III (eds.). Adolescent Rheumatology. Taylor & Francis. pp. 325–340. ISBN 978-1-853-17553-4.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "LGBT History Month – October 22: Rachel Levine". Q-Notes. October 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  2. ^ Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) (March 26, 2021). "Rachel L. Levine, M.D." HHS.gov. Retrieved March 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Gov. Wolf to Nominate Alison Beam as Secretary of Health, Names Dr. Wendy Braund as Interim Acting Physician General". Governor's Office. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Zezima, Katie (June 1, 2016). "Meet Rachel Levine, one of the very few transgender public officials in America". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Sullivan, Eileen (January 19, 2021). "Biden's pick for Health and Human Services role would be first transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Weissert, Will (January 19, 2021). "Biden picks transgender woman as assistant health secretary". AP News. Retrieved January 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b Diamond, Dan (October 19, 2021). "Rachel Levine, openly transgender health official, to be sworn in as four-star admiral in Public Health Service". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Franklin, Jonathan (October 19, 2021). "Dr. Rachel Levine is sworn in as the nation's first transgender four-star officer". NPR. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Casey, John (October 19, 2021). "Dr. Rachel Levine Is Now First Trans 4-Star Admiral in U.S. History". Advocate. Retrieved October 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Goodin-Smith, Oona (January 19, 2021). "What to know about Rachel Levine, the history-making Pa. health official tapped for Biden administration". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Loveland, Barry (February 6, 2017). "LGBT Oral History: Rachel Levine" (PDF). LGBT Center of Central PA History Project Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections. Carlisle, PA, USA. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  12. ^ "Jewish woman welcomed as transgender, state's new physician general". Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. June 24, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  13. ^ "Dr. Rachel Levine '75 Offers Timely Message for Students". Belmont Hill School. October 24, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Choi-Schagrin, Winston (March 20, 2020). "A 2018 Q&A with Dr. Rachel Levine, now leading state's coronavirus response [from The Caucus archives]". LancasterOnline. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Meet the Transgender Doctor Leading Pennsylvania's COVID-19 Response". www.advocate.com. March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  16. ^ a b DeJesus, Ivey (March 19, 2020). "Who is Rachel Levine? Pa. health secretary offers calm, reassurance amid pandemic". WITF. PennLive.
  17. ^ "Pennsylvania state senator calls for resignation of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. May 11, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  18. ^ "Pa. health secretary departs with mixed record on COVID-19". Spotlight PA. January 21, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Robinson, David; Barchenger, Stacey; Powers, Kelly; Ciavaglia, Jo (May 1, 2020). "States ordered nursing homes to take COVID-19 residents. Thousands died. How it happened". Bucks County Courier Times. Levittown, PA. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  20. ^ Pattani, Aneri; Moss, Rebecca (May 9, 2020). "Pa. had early plan to protect nursing homes from the coronavirus, but never fully implemented it". Spotlight PA. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  21. ^ Pattani, Aneri (May 21, 2020). "Pa. health officials quietly alter erroneous nursing home case, death counts as providers cry foul". Spotlight PA. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  22. ^ Simon, Sarah (June 17, 2020). "Health officials failed to safeguard trust in Pa.'s coronavirus data, sowing confusion". Spotlight PA. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Martines, Jamie (February 25, 2021). "Levine questioned on missing Pa. nursing home data in federal confirmation hearing". Spotlight PA. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Martines, Jamie (March 18, 2021). "Levine pressed for answers on Pa.'s missing nursing home data as confirmation advances". Spotlight PA. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Health Secretary offers guidance for nursing homes, governor insists on gradual reopening". WHTM. Harrisburg, PA. May 12, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  26. ^ Prose, J.D.; Woodall, Candy (August 11, 2020). "Costly COVID-19 mistakes: Pennsylvania nursing homes in midst of second wave of COVID-19". The Beaver County Times. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  27. ^ "Dr. Rachel Levine Defends Response To Coronavirus Outbreak Inside Nursing Homes". KDKA-TV. Harrisburg, PA. Associated Press. June 27, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2021. Pennsylvania's health secretary on Friday defended her agency's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak inside the nursing homes and personal care facilities that account for almost 70% of the state's nearly 6,600 fatalities.
  28. ^ a b c Marnin, Julia (January 19, 2021). "Fact Check: Did Biden's Health Pick Put COVID-19 Patients Into Nursing Homes?". Newsweek. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  29. ^ "Rachel Levine: Transgender official sworn in as four-star admiral". BBC News. October 20, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  30. ^ Diamond, Dan; Schmidt, Samantha. "Rachel Levine, historic transgender nominee, confirmed as assistant health secretary". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "Trans doctor Rachel Levine faces historic Senate confirmation hearing". the Guardian. February 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  32. ^ Fields, Aryn (March 17, 2021). "U.S. Senate Committee Votes to Move Forward Dr. Rachel Levine's Nomination for Assistant Secretary for Health". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved March 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  34. ^ Burns, Katelyn (January 22, 2021). "Dr. Rachel Levine's historic appointment to the Biden administration, explained". Vox. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  35. ^ Johnson, Chris (January 19, 2021). "Rachel Levine tapped to become first out transgender Senate-confirmed official". Washington Blade. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  36. ^ a b "Inside Tulane Med". tmaaarchive.tulane.edu. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  37. ^ Srikanth, Anagha (January 19, 2021). "Rachel Levine could be the first transgender official confirmed by Congress. Who is she?". The Hill. Retrieved April 16, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ^ "resume www.writerdoc.com". December 29, 2008. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  39. ^ Levine, Martha Peaslee (November 5, 2013). "How Do You Measure Your Life?". Psychology Today.
  40. ^ Dr. Rachel Levine [@HHS_ASH] (October 19, 2021). "Swearing-in of Dr. Rachel Levine to the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, officially becoming the first openly transgender four-star officer in the uniformed services and first female four-star admiral of @USPHS" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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Political offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary for Health
2021–present 		Incumbent
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