27 Facts About Regina Benjamin

Regina Marcia Benjamin was born on October 26,1956 and is an American physician and a former vice admiral in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who served as the 18th Surgeon General of the United States.

Regina Benjamin was born in Mobile, Alabama on October 26,1956.

Regina Benjamin graduated from Fairhope High School in Fairhope, Alabama, 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.

Regina Benjamin is a member of the second graduating class of Morehouse School of Medicine, then a two year program at Morehouse College.

Regina Benjamin is a former associate dean for rural health at the College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama, where she administered the Alabama AHEC program and previously directed its Telemedicine Program.

Regina Benjamin served as the president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in 2002.

Regina Benjamin is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Regina Benjamin was a Kellogg National Fellow and a Rockefeller Next Generation Leader.

Regina Benjamin 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.

Regina Benjamin was a paid consultant for Burger King, contracted to provide nutritional advice on their offerings.

Regina 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.

Regina Benjamin made headlines when she rebuilt the clinic a second time.

Regina Benjamin is founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, a small shrimping village along the Gulf Coast.

Regina Benjamin was the subject of a Reader's Digest article that chronicled her efforts to rebuild the clinic after Hurricane Katrina.

On October 7,2009, Regina Benjamin was unanimously approved by the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Regina Benjamin was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on October 29,2009.

Regina 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, Regina Benjamin described her own hardships faced by disease and illness in her own family.

On January 20,2011, Dr Regina Benjamin issued The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, which was a science-based summary document intended to stimulate action on improving breastfeeding rates in the United States.

In September, 2012, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin issued "The 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a report from the US Surgeon General and the Action Alliance".

Regina Benjamin resigned from the position of US Surgeon General on July 16,2013.

Regina Benjamin's political support for abortion access had been cited as a source of controversy, since Benjamin is a Catholic and the Catholic Church opposes such access.

Regina Benjamin sits on the board of the Catholic Health Association and is active in her local church.

Regina Benjamin served on the board of trustees of the Catholic Health Association.

Regina Benjamin was endorsed by Lloyd Dean, the president of Catholic Healthcare West, the largest hospital system in California, who issued a statement saying he was "delighted" by her nomination.

Regina Benjamin was featured on the December 1999 cover of Clarity Magazine and received the 2000 National Caring Award, which was inspired by Mother Teresa.

On Saturday, May 15,2010, Dr Regina Benjamin received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science at Tulane University Commencement.