Canyon Ranch Spa Arizona

Richard Henry Carmona (born 22 November 1949) is an American physician and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the seventeenth Surgeon General of the United States. 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. 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.

Biography

Early years

Carmona was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent, and raised in Harlem. After dropping out of Dewitt Clinton high school at age 16, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While enlisted, he received his General Educational Development (GED), joined the United States Army Special Forces, became a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, and began his career in medicine as a Special Forces medic.

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.

Career

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.

Position on tobacco

Further information: Passive smoking

In 2006, Carmona released a landmark Surgeon General's report on the health effects of secondhand smoke. 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." 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.

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.

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, emergency contraception, and abstinence-only education, where the Administration's political stance conflicted with scientific and medical opinion.

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." 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. 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.

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."

Personal life

Carmona is married to Diana Sanchez. They have two daughters and two sons.

Awards and decorations

Badges and insignia

  • Surgeon General (SG) Badge
  • Department of Health and Human Services Identification (HHS ID) Badge
  • Combat Medical Badge
  • U.S. Army Parachutist Badge
  • Special Forces Tab

Personal awards and decorations

See also

  • List of famous Puerto Ricans
  • List of Puerto Rican military personnel

References

  1. ^ Allen, Paul L. (2006-08-03). "Chicago proud one of its own". Tucson Citizen . http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/21262.php .  
  2. ^ Burger, Timothy J. "PREZ TAPS MAVERICK FOR SURGEON GENERAL", Daily News (New York) , March 27, 2002. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Carmona, 52, who dropped out of Dewitt Clinton High School in Harlem at 16 and later joined the Army, got a GED and was a Green Beret in Vietnam, where he was wounded twice."
  3. ^ The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Issued June 27, 2006; accessed March 21, 2008.
  4. ^ Neergaard, Lauran (2006-06-28). "Surgeon General: Beware Secondhand Smoke". Associated Press . http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/06/28/secondhandsmoke_hea.html?category=health .  
  5. ^ a b Doyle, Leonard (2007-07-13). "White House 'gagged' Surgeon General". Politics (New Zealand Herald) . http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10451275 . Retrieved 2007-07-13 .  
  6. ^ Kaufman, Marc (2003-06-04). "Surgeon General Favors Tobacco Ban". Nation (Washington Post) . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A10014-2003Jun3 . "Surgeon General Richard 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."

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