Barack Obama has nominated yet another woman for a super important post in his administration. This time around, Dr. Regina Benjamin is his pick to be the next Surgeon General. She’s a 52-year-old, African American family practice doctor who serves a poor community and often treats patients with no means of paying the bills. She has a father who died from diabetes, a mother who passed away from lung cancer due to smoking, and a brother who died from HIV-related complications. In other words, she’s got serious motivation to fight preventable illnesses that take lots of lives in the U.S. every year.Dr. Regina Benjamin would be the fifth female fill the Surgeon General’s office, but interestingly, it’s been more than a decade since a lady held the job. Could this mean that women’s health issues which have been ignored in the past may get more attention? If the Senate confirms her, come fall, I can only hope that Dr. Benjamin will be able to move the country’s focus from sensational issues like swine flu to deadly diseases that effect huge tracts of people but are completely preventable. Oh, and maybe she can make sure that all insurance companies start covering birth control? [CNN]
