September 30, 2010
Dear PHS Officers,
I cannot express to you, how proud I am to go around the world and to see all the hard work that you are doing and how well you are doing it. Your commitment to Public Health and the health of the nation is extraordinary.
It has been a long but productive Spring and Summer. I am sorry I have not gotten to attend many of the meetings and events of the Corps. Please do not interpret this as a lack of interest; on the contrary, I just felt that the Office of the Surgeon General has had too little public visibility for much too long. I have been working hard to put a public face on the Commission Corps and am trying educate the American people about us and our commitment to Public Health.
Public Appearances – some examples
Good Morning America
American Idol – childhood obesity
MSNBC
World Health Assembly
Clinton Global Initiatives
United Nations
US Olympic Training Camp – flu shots
14 Graduation Commencements
Surgeon General Walks with Media
Baltimore, Los Angeles, Martha’s Vineyard, (Boston in Nov)
Hiked the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim (26.2 miles, 5,000 ft elevation change)
With a national media camera crew
Morning Joe
Dr. Oz Show – to air Monday Oct 4th
Visited Indian Reservations
Continuous Keynotes for major organizations
A Gulf Oil Spokesperson on Behavioral Health Issues
Numerous White House Events
TV, Magazines, and Blogs
Transformation of the Corps
In addition to the above, steady and consistent work continues on this. Contrary to rumors, the Commissioned Corps is NOT in any danger and there is STRONG commitment from the top. In fact, Dr. Koh and I meet regularly with Secretary Sebelius and Deputy Secretary Bill Corr regarding the Corps. The Deputy Secretary has taken personal leadership to ensure that the inadvertent consequences caused by the ACA legislation are corrected.
Regarding Transformation, that process is moving forward. Dr. Koh and I will be giving you a formal status report in the very near future.
OSG – Immediate Office
In preparation for changes that will occur with transformation, I am assembling my immediate office leadership team. A high performance, efficient, and innovative team. Personal career promotion, insider cliques, manipulation, and information control, will be replaced by openness, good communication, and quality service to you and to the public. This new team will be open to new ideas, adapt to change, and will be outcomes oriented.
I will be announcing some of the members of this new leadership team in the next few days and weeks.
I am grateful to Captain Carol Romano for agreeing to serve as Acting Deputy Surgeon General during this period.
Sincerely,
Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA
Surgeon General