Regina Benjamin
Encyclopedia
Vice Admiral
Regina Marcia Benjamin, USPHS (born October 26, 1956 in Mobile, Alabama
) is an American physician who serves as the 18th Surgeon General of the United States
. Dr. Benjamin previously directed a nonprofit primary care
medical clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama
and served on the Board of Trustees for the Morehouse School of Medicine
.
and then attended college at Xavier University of Louisiana
in New Orleans where she was initiated into the Gamma Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta
sorority. She is also a member of the second graduating class of Morehouse School of Medicine
. 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
. About her experience as the first member of her family to attend medical school, she has stated that "I had never seen a black doctor before I went to college." After entering solo medical practice in Bayou La Batre, Benjamin worked for several years in emergency rooms and nursing homes to financially support its mission. After receiving an MBA from the Freeman School of Business
at Tulane University
, she converted her office to a rural health clinic.
, where she administered the Alabama AHEC program and previously directed its Telemedicine Program. She served as the president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) in 2002. In 1995, she was elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association
, making her both the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. She also served on the Board of Trustees of Florida A & M University, appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush
. 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 and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories.
Dr. 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 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
and Deep South Girl Scout Council.
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." 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.
She was a paid consultant for Burger King, contracted to provide nutritional advice on their offerings.
Dr. 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.
. 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
.
On July 13, 2009 President
Barack Obama
announced the choice of Benjamin for the position of Surgeon General of the United States
and as a Medical Director
in the regular corps of the Public Health Service
. On October 7, 2009, Benjamin was unanimously approved by the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
. Benjamin was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate
on October 29, 2009.
Dr. Benjamin accepted the President's nomination, and made clear her dissatisfaction with the current health care system
, in terms of accessibility as well as cost. 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."
In January 2010, Dr. Benjamin released her first document, entitled "The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation." In it she highlighted the alarming trend of overweight and obese Americans, and offered a blueprint for grassroots efforts to make changes that promote the health and wellness of families and communities.
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. Benjamin also sits on the board of the Catholic Health Association
and is active in her local church.
Benjamin's weight and personal health have also been a source of criticism.
Award for Health and Human Rights.
Dr. 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
.
In 2006, she was awarded the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
by Pope Benedict XVI
.
In 2008, Dr. Benjamin was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report
. 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 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that would have been worth $500,000 over the course of five years. However, as a federal employee, she had to stop accepting the MacArthur Fellows stipend when she accepted the position as Surgeon General.
In 2009, she received the American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award.
In 2010, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Dartmouth College
at their Commencement ceremony.
On May 8, 2010, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate of Pharmacy from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
at the college's 130th Commencement ceremony held at the Empire State Plaza
in Albany, NY.
On May 28, 2011, she received an honorary degree of Doctorate of Humane Letters from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
, after which she delivered the address for the school's 205th commencement.
Vice admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
Regina Marcia Benjamin, USPHS (born October 26, 1956 in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
) is an American physician who serves as the 18th Surgeon General of the United States
Surgeon General of the United States
The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...
. Dr. Benjamin previously directed a nonprofit primary care
Primary care
Primary care is the term for the health services by providers who act as the principal point of consultation for patients within a health care system...
medical clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and served on the Board of Trustees for the Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine is a medical school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.-Establishment:Founded originally as a part of Morehouse College in 1975 during the tenure of college president Hugh M. Gloster, with Louis W. Sullivan, M.D. as dean, The School of Medicine at Morehouse College began as a two...
.
Education
Dr. Benjamin graduated from Fairhope High School in Fairhope, AlabamaFairhope, Alabama
Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, on a sloping plateau, along the cliffs and shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2010 census lists the population of the city as 16,176....
and then attended college at Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana , located in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college with the distinction of being the only historically black Roman Catholic institution of higher education...
in New Orleans where she was initiated into the Gamma Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
sorority. She is also a member of the second graduating class of Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine is a medical school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.-Establishment:Founded originally as a part of Morehouse College in 1975 during the tenure of college president Hugh M. Gloster, with Louis W. Sullivan, M.D. as dean, The School of Medicine at Morehouse College began as a two...
. She received her M.D. degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
and completed her residency in family practice at the Medical Center of Central Georgia
Medical Center of Central Georgia
The Medical Center of Central Georgia is a 637-bed hospital located in Macon, Georgia. MCCG is the second largest hospital in Georgia, behind Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. MCCG is a teaching hospital affiliated with Mercer University Medical School. MCCG Serves 28 counties throughout...
. About her experience as the first member of her family to attend medical school, she has stated that "I had never seen a black doctor before I went to college." After entering solo medical practice in Bayou La Batre, Benjamin worked for several years in emergency rooms and nursing homes to financially support its mission. After receiving an MBA from the Freeman School of Business
Freeman School of Business
The Freeman School of Business, at Tulane University, is located in New Orleans, LA. The school offers undergraduate programs, a full-time MBA program and other master's programs, doctoral programs, and many executive-education programs, and consistently ranks among the top business schools...
at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, she converted her office to a rural health clinic.
Professional activities
Dr. Benjamin is former associate dean for rural health at the College of Medicine at the University of South AlabamaUniversity of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama is a public, doctoral-level university in Mobile, Alabama, USA. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. No other areas of the state were willing to support such a...
, where she administered the Alabama AHEC program and previously directed its Telemedicine Program. She served as the president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) in 2002. In 1995, she was elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
, making her both the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. She also served on the Board of Trustees of Florida A & M University, appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
. From 2008–2009, she served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Federation of State Medical Boards
Federation of State Medical Boards
The Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States is a national non-profit organization that represents the 70 state medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories and co-sponsors the United States Medical Licensing Examination...
, a national non-profit organization representing the 70 medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories.
Dr. Benjamin is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Family Physicians
The American Academy of Family Physicians was founded in 1947 to promote the science and art of family medicine. It is one of the largest medical organizations in the United States, with over 100,000 members...
. She was a Kellogg National Fellow and also a Rockefeller Next Generation Leader. She has served on 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
Physicians for Human Rights
Physicians for Human Rights was founded in 1986 by a small group of doctors who believed the unique scientific expertise and authority of health professionals could bring human rights violations to light and provide justice for victims...
and Deep South Girl Scout Council.
She was appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala
Donna Shalala
Donna Edna Shalala served for eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton and has been president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2001. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest...
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." 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.
She was a paid consultant for Burger King, contracted to provide nutritional advice on their offerings.
Dr. Benjamin's clinic was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
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.
Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic
Dr. Benjamin is founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, AlabamaBayou La Batre, Alabama
Bayou La Batre is a town in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area. At the 2000 census, the population was 2,313. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 2,725....
. Bayou La Batre is a small shrimping village along the Gulf Coast. Benjamin was the subject of a Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
article that chronicled her efforts to rebuild the clinic after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Surgeon General of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
announced the choice of Benjamin for the position of Surgeon General of the United States
Surgeon General of the United States
The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...
and as a Medical Director
Vice admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
in the regular corps of the Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
. On October 7, 2009, Benjamin was unanimously approved by the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions generally considers matters relating to health, education, labor, and pensions...
. Benjamin was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on October 29, 2009.
Dr. Benjamin accepted the President's nomination, and made clear her dissatisfaction with the current health care system
Health care in the United States
Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
, in terms of accessibility as well as cost. 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."
In January 2010, Dr. Benjamin released her first document, entitled "The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation." In it she highlighted the alarming trend of overweight and obese Americans, and offered a blueprint for grassroots efforts to make changes that promote the health and wellness of families and communities.
Criticism
Her political support for abortion accessAbortion in the United States
Abortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973...
has been cited as a source of controversy, since Benjamin, who is a Roman Catholic, has also received an award from the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, a strong opponent of such procedures. Benjamin also sits on the board of the Catholic Health Association
Catholic Health Association of the United States
The Catholic Health Association of the United States was founded in 1915 as the Catholic Hospital Association of the United States and Canada. The association has offices in Washington, D.C. and St. Louis, Missouri....
and is active in her local church.
Benjamin's weight and personal health have also been a source of criticism.
Awards
In 1998 she was the United States recipient of the Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
Award for Health and Human Rights.
Dr. Benjamin was named by TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
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
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
, "Woman of the Year" by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
This Morning
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
, 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
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
.
In 2006, she was awarded the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
The Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal is an award of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also known as the "Cross of Honour". The medal was established by Leo XIII on July 17, 1888, to commemorate his golden sacerdotal jubilee and was originally bestowed on those women and men who had aided and...
by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
.
In 2008, Dr. Benjamin was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
. In September 2008, she was one of that year's class of 25 in the MacArthur Fellows Program
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
, nicknamed the "Genius Awards," receiving a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that would have been worth $500,000 over the course of five years. However, as a federal employee, she had to stop accepting the MacArthur Fellows stipend when she accepted the position as Surgeon General.
| Badge of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the federal uniformed service of the United States Public Health Service and is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.... |
| Public Health Service Regular Corps Ribbon Awards and decorations of the Public Health Service The Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, has the authority to issue various awards and commendations to its members. These include individual honor awards, unit honor awards, service awards, and training ribbons... |
 Commissioned Corps Training Ribbon |
In 2009, she received the American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award.
In 2010, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
at their Commencement ceremony.
On May 8, 2010, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate of Pharmacy from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is a private, independent college dedicated to the advancement of health...
at the college's 130th Commencement ceremony held at the Empire State Plaza
Empire State Plaza
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York....
in Albany, NY.
On May 28, 2011, she received an honorary degree of Doctorate of Humane Letters from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
, after which she delivered the address for the school's 205th commencement.