University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine graduate Regina Benjamin, M.D., was nominated to be surgeon general of the United States by President Barack Obama today. Benjamin is a family practice doctor in Bayou La Batre.
Benjamin received her medical degree from UAB in 1984. She founded Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in 1990, serving a largely disadvantaged community. She is also the first woman, the first African-American woman and the first person under 40 to sit on the board of trustees of the American Medical Association, from 1995-98.
"Dr. Regina Benjamin is a worthy and deserving choice to be Surgeon General of the United States," said Robert Rich, M.D., senior vice president and dean of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. "Since her graduation from UAB's medical school in 1984, she has been a tireless advocate for access to health care for the disadvantaged. From her own practice in rural Bayou La Batre, Alabama, to her groundbreaking leadership roles in American medicine, she has demonstrated the finest qualities of the physician....as a teacher, a leader and a healer."