Richard Carmona
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| Richard Carmona | |
 Vice Admiral Richard Carmona, USPHS |
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| In office August 5, 2002 – July 31, 2006 |
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| Preceded by | David Satcher |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth P. Moritsugu |
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| Born | September 22, 1949 New York City, New York, USA |
| Political party | Republican |
Richard Henry Carmona, (born November 22, 1949), is an American physician who served as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States. As the Surgeon General, he was commissioned as a Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the head of the Corps. Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, Carmona left office at the end of July 2006 upon the expiration of his term. After leaving office, Carmona was highly critical of the Bush Administration for interfering with and suppressing scientific findings which conflicted with the Administration's ideological agenda.
In August 2006, Carmona returned home to Tucson, Arizona.[1] According to KVOA Television, he may be considering public office.[2] He is now vice chairman of the Canyon Ranch resort and spa company, president of the non-profit Canyon Ranch Institute, and a professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.
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[edit] Early years and career
Carmona was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent, and raised in Harlem. After dropping out of Dewitt Clinton high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While enlisted, he received his Army General Educational Development (GED), joined the United States Army Special Forces, became a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, and began his career in medicine.
After leaving active duty, Carmona attended the Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, where he earned his associate of arts degree. In 1977, he graduated from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), with a bachelor of science degree; in 1979, he received his medical degree from UCSF, where he was awarded the prestigious gold headed cane as the top graduate.
[edit] Medical career through July 2006
Carmona worked in various positions in the medical field including paramedic, registered nurse and physician. He completed a surgical residency at UCSF and a National Institutes of Health-sponsored fellowship in trauma, burns, and critical care. Carmona is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and certified in correctional health care and in quality assurance.
In 1998, he earned a Master's degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) from the University of Arizona.
Before being named Surgeon General, Carmona was the chairman of the State of Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System, a professor of surgery, public health and family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Sheriff's Department surgeon and deputy sheriff.
Carmona has held positions of responsibility as chief medical officer, hospital chief executive officer, public health officer, and finally chief executive officer of the Pima County health care system. He has also served as a medical director of police and fire departments and is a peace officer with expertise in special operations and emergency preparedness, including weapons of mass destruction.
[edit] Position on tobacco
- Further information: Passive smoking
In 2006, Carmona released a landmark Surgeon General's report on the health effects of secondhand smoke.[3] Carmona's report underlined the risks of secondhand smoke exposure; at the time of the report's release, Carmona stated: "The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard."[4] The report encouraged the adoption of indoor smoking bans and noted that such bans did not appear to have a harmful economic effect on bars and restaurants. After leaving office, Carmona testified before Congress that the Bush Administration had tried for years to "water down" his findings on the dangers of secondhand smoke, and had pressured him not to testify in the tobacco industry's racketeering trial.[5]
In earlier testimony before the U.S. Congress, Carmona had stated that he would not object to a ban on all tobacco products "if Congress chose to go that way." The Bush Administration distanced itself from this statement.[6]
[edit] Political interference
On July 10, 2007, Carmona, along with former Surgeons General C. Everett Koop and David Satcher, testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about political and ideological interference with the Surgeon General's mission. Carmona accused the Bush Administration of preventing him from speaking out on certain public health issues such as embryonic stem cell research, global climate change,[7] emergency contraception, and abstinence-only education, where the Administration's political stance conflicted with scientific and medical opinion.[8]
Carmona also testified that the Bush Administration had attempted for years to "water down" his report on the dangers of secondhand smoke and pressured him not to testify in the tobacco industry's racketeering trial: "Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried."[9][10] According to Carmona, he was even ordered not to attend the Special Olympics because the event was sponsored by the Kennedy family, and was told to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches.[5] The Washington Post subsequently identified William R. Steiger as the Bush Administration official who had blocked release of Carmona's report on global health because it conflicted with the Administration's political priorities.[11]
Reuters reported that Carmona's predecessors as Surgeon General had acknowledged the high level of political interference he experienced, saying: "We have never seen it as partisan, as malicious, as vindictive, as mean-spirited as it is today, and you clearly have worse than anyone's had."[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Allen, Paul L.. "Tucson proud Richard Carmona one of its own", Tucson Citizen, 2006-08-03.
- ^ "KVOA morning newscast", 2006-08-09.
- ^ The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Issued June 27, 2006; accessed March 21, 2008.
- ^ Neergaard, Lauran (2006-06-28). Surgeon General: Beware Secondhand Smoke. Associated Press.
- ^ a b Doyle, Leonard. "White House 'gagged' Surgeon General", Politics, New Zealand Herald, 2007-07-13. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
- ^ Kaufman, Marc. "Surgeon General Favors Tobacco Ban", Nation, Washington Post, 2003-06-04. "Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona said yesterday that he supports the banning of tobacco products -- the first time that the government's top doctor and public health advocate has made such a strong statement about the historically contentious subject."
- ^ Rovner, Julie. "Ex-Surgeon General Says Administration Interfered", Politics, NPR, 2007-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-07-12. "He recalled a meeting where senior White House officials talked about global warming as a liberal cause with no merit."
- ^ Harris, Gardiner (July 10, 2007), “White House Is Accused of Putting Politics Over Science”, New York Times, <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/washington/11cnd-surgeon.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print>
- ^ a b Dunham, Will. "Former Bush surgeon general says he was muzzled", Reuters, 2007-07-10. "‘Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried’"
- ^ Beckerman, Gal. "Surgeon General's Warning: Politics always trumps science in the Bush White House", The Kicker, Columbia Journalism Review, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-11. "‘The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds.’"
- ^ Bush Aide Blocked Report, Christopher Lee and Marc Kaufman, The Washington Post, July 29, 2007.
- This article is based on public domain text produced by the U.S. government
- http://www.hhs.gov/about/bios/sg.html
[edit] See also
| Preceded by David Satcher |
Surgeon General of the United States August 5, 2002–July 31, 2006 |
Succeeded by vacant |
