Public Health Experts Strongly Support Dr. Vivek Murthy as the next Surgeon General

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading public health experts and organizations – including American Public Health Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Trust for America's Health (TFAH), and many others – support Dr. Vivek Murthy becoming the next surgeon general.

Dr. David Satcher, surgeon general under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, wrote, in his letter of support: "Dr. Murthy's impressive track record of accomplishments as an innovative and well-respected thought leader in health care will prove to be invaluable to the American people." 

"I have seen Dr. Murthy's excellent work firsthand. He is highly qualified to be the next surgeon general and to lead the Commissioned Corps into a new era," said Jeffrey Levi, PhD, executive director of TFAH and chair of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.

"As a physician and a public health leader, Dr. Murthy understands that improving the health of Americans requires a close partnership between what happens in the clinic and what happens in our communities. That kind of leadership is what the country needs to ensure everyone can be as happy, healthy and productive as they choose to be," continued Levi.

TFAH joins many other public health leaders and organizations in supporting the nomination of Dr. Murthy, including:

• Jeffrey R. Balser, MD, PhD, Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Thomas Barker, Foley Hoag LLP, and former Counselor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Cedric Bright, MD, FACS, 112^th President of the National Medical Association and Director, Special Programs Office, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
• Jeffrey P. Copland, MD, MPH, Vice President for Global Health, Emory University, and former Director of the Centers for Control and Prevention
• Scott Corlew, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital
• Andrew Davidoff, MD, Surgeon in Chief, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Victor J. Dzau, MD, Chancellor for Health Affairs and President and CEO, Duke University Medical Center and Health System, and President-elect of the Institute of Medicine
• Trevor Fetter, President and CEO, Tenet Healthcare Corporation
• Jonathan  E. Fielding, MD, MPH, MBA, Director and Health Officer, Los Angeles Department of Public Health
• Samuel R. Nussbaum, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, WellPoint Bhaskar N. Rao, MD, FACS, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• James Roosevelt, Jr., CEO, Tufts Health Plan
• David Satcher, MD, PhD, 16^th Surgeon General of the United States
• Eric H. Schultz, President and CEO, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare
• Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH, Commissioner of Health, New York State Department of Health
• Kimberlydawn Wisdom, MD, MS, Senior Vice President, Henry Ford Health System
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
• American Cancer Society
• American College of Physicians
• American College of Sports Medicine
• American Diabetes Association
• American Heart Association
• American Hospital Association
• American Medical Women's Association
• American Public Health Association
• Associated Industries of Massachusetts
• Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Federation of American Hospitals
• Health & Disability Advocates
• March of Dimes Foundation
• National Center for Disaster Preparedness
• The New England Council
• New Hampshire Public Health Association
• Partners Healthcare.

A full account of letters from public health leaders in support for Dr. Murthy can be found here.

Trust for America's Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org

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SOURCE Trust for America's Health