Bill Text: MS SC572 | 2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled

Mississippi Senate Concurrent Resolution 572 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Recognize the 18th Surgeon General of the United States, Vice Admiral Regina M. Benjamin, USPHS.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-4)

Status: (Passed) 2010-02-17 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC572 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2010-SC572-Enrolled.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2010 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Jackson (11th), Harden, Jordan, Mettetal, Stone, Powell, Butler, Frazier, Walls, Burton, Blount, Baria, Jackson (32nd), Browning, Dearing, Watson

Senate Concurrent Resolution 572

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND SALUTING THE 18TH SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, VICE ADMIRAL REGINA M. BENJAMIN, USPHS.

WHEREAS, Vice Admiral Regina Marcia Benjamin, USPHS, a native of Mobile, Alabama, has been sworn in as the 18th Surgeon General of the United States. Dr. Benjamin is a rural family physician who ran a nonprofit medical clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, which served patients from the bordering State of Mississippi, which has a similar health care population and health care needs as her home state; and

WHEREAS, Admiral Benjamin attended Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans; 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; and

WHEREAS, the Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government. The Surgeon General is nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. The Surgeon General serves a four-year term of office and is the highest ranking uniformed officer of the PHSCC, holding the grade of a three-star Vice Admiral while in office; and

WHEREAS, after entering solo practice in Bayou La Batre, Benjamin worked for several years in emergency rooms and nursing homes to keep her practice open. After receiving an MBA from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, she converted her office to a rural health clinic; and

WHEREAS, Vice Admiral Benjamin is former Associate Dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama's College of Medicine in Mobile, where she administered the Alabama AHEC program and previously directed its Telemedicine Program. She serves as the current President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. In 1995, she was elected to the American Medical Association's Board of Trustees, making her the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. She also served on the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees after being 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 nonprofit organization representing the 70 medical boards of the United States and its territories; and

WHEREAS, Benjamin is a diplomat 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 a variety of 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; and

WHEREAS, Admiral 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; and

WHEREAS, on July 13, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the choice of Vice Admiral 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; and

WHEREAS, Admiral Benjamin was named 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 2009, she received the American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize this important appointment which has the primary duty of educating the American public about health issues and advocating healthy lifestyle choices, which is particularly an important issue in Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and salute the 18th Surgeon General of the United States, Vice Admiral Regina M. Benjamin, USPHS, and extend to her our best wishes as she assumes her important duties.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Vice Admiral Benjamin, forwarded to the Public Health Service and the State Department of Health and Mississippi's congressional delegation, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.