President Nominates Regina Benjamin, MD to Serve as U.S. Surgeon General

July 13, 2009

Today, the President announced his nominee for the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin. Dr. Benjamin has a distinguished career in medicine and is the Founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama, where primary care is provided to patients of any age regardless of their financial situation. She previously served as Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, and as the Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. Additionally, in 2002, she was elected president of the Medical Association of Alabama. She was also elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. Among numerous honors, she received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1998. Dr. Benjamin is a graduate of Xavier University and the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She later received an MBA from Tulane University.