Where Is the Surgeon General?

[bananas]

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1412890?query=featured_home

Where Is the Surgeon General?
Gregory D. Curfman, M.D., Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D., and Jeffrey M. Drazen, M.D.
October 22, 2014DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe1412890

As an unchecked Ebola epidemic moves out of West Africa to touch the United States and the rest of the world, we should rightfully ask, “Where is the Surgeon General?” The answer is, quite simply, that we do not have one. We face a growing crisis of confidence in our ability to protect patients and health care workers, and the position of the chief public health officer of the United States remains unfilled.

How did this happen?

President Barack Obama nominated a highly qualified candidate, Vivek Murthy, to be the nation's next Surgeon General, but the nomination was not advanced to a confirmation vote in the Senate because conservative lawmakers and the National Rifle Association found his very reasonable views on firearm regulation unacceptable. A highly respected physician with impressive credentials who would have been an outstanding Surgeon General was turned away solely for political reasons.

That was in March, and nothing has happened since. Although we believe that Vivek Murthy would bring much to the job, the harsh political environment in Washington is unlikely to allow his confirmation. Given this impasse, and in these critical times, the Obama administration should select another candidate to be the nation's public health leader. Although the Acting Surgeon General, Boris Lushniak, is well qualified, he has not been confirmed and lacks the authority to actively pursue a public health agenda for the nation. We have heard little from him during the Ebola outbreak. Now, more than ever, we need a confirmed Surgeon General who can speak to the public with authority.

<snip>

[bananas]

1. Another reason to vote. nt