3/12/09: Disaster Accountability Project Endorses Dr. Irwin Redlener for Surgeon General
March 12, 2009
Contact: Ben Smilowitz, 314-761-7631
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Disaster Accountability Project Endorses Dr. Irwin Redlener for Surgeon General
The Disaster Accountability Project endorsed Irwin Redlener for Surgeon General in a letter to President Obama today. Dr. Redlender is on a short list of top candidates for the spot.
“Dr. Redlenerís decades of experience in public health issues make him an extraordinary candidate for Surgeon General,” the Disaster Accountability Project wrote in a letter to President Obama. “Just as past Surgeon Generals have focused on the relevant health problems of their time, including smoking and AIDS, Dr. Redlenerís specialty relating to disaster preparedness and recovery will better prepare the United States for some of the greatest public health threats of modern times.”
Dr. Redlener has been a former adviser to the president and Cabinet members since 1993. He is a well-known advocate of childrenís health issues, particularly of those issues affecting poor children. With musician Paul Simon, Dr. Redlener is president and co-founder of the Childrenís Health Fund. CHF has developed 22 pediatric programs providing medical care to children in the nation’s most underserved rural and urban communities.
In addition to his work on childrenís health, Dr. Redlener has been a disaster-preparedness advocate. He published “Americans at Risk: Why We Are Not Prepared for Megadisasters and What We Can Do Now,”published by Knopf in 2006. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Redlener directed a series of medical relief programs.
“Dr. Redlener brings a strong background and undying passion for national service on public health issues, and has the leadership qualities to successfully lead the Office of the Surgeon General,” according to the Disaster Accountability Project endorsement.
Dr. Redlener is a 1969 graduate of University of Miami School of Medicine. He is a member of the New York Academy of Medicine, the Task Force on Terrorism and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has received numerous domestic and international honors, including the Sabin Humanitarian Award, the Louis Z. Cooper Award for Child Advocacy, the American Academy of Pediatricsís Presidentís Certificate for Outstanding Service, the Robin Hood Foundation Hero of the Year Award, and National Health Services Corps Directorís Award.
–SEE LETTER BELOW–
Disaster Accountability Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization providing accountability and oversight to the nation’s disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery systems through monitoring and policy research. The Disaster Accountability Project’s website is https://disasteraccountability.org.
A toll-free hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) is available as a public service for disaster survivors, workers and volunteers to report critical gaps in disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery services or planning. The group is recruiting a national network of Disaster Accountability Monitors and Bloggers to help report, verify, and publicize gaps in disaster services or planning.
Disaster Accountability Project is a 2008 Echoing Green Fellowship Organization.
For more information: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/ben-smilowitz
–OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA–
Dear Mr. President:
In appointing the next Surgeon General, it is essential to choose a well-qualified and capable individual to serve as the chief health educator of the American people and your principal adviser on public health, medical, and health systems issues. With this responsibility in mind, the Disaster Accountability Project recommends Dr. Irwin Redlener as Surgeon General.
Dr. Redlener brings a strong background and undying passion for national service on public health issues, and has the leadership qualities to successfully lead the Office of the Surgeon General. Dr. Redlener’s focus on improving public health system readiness for disasters is unparalleled. He directed a series of medical relief programs in the Gulf Coast region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and he has written and spoken widely on pandemic and terrorism preparedness and child health issues.
Dr. Redlener possesses the qualities needed to execute the duties of the Surgeon General: to protect and advance the health of the Nation, to articulate scientifically based policy advice to the President, to provide leadership for department initiatives, and to manage the 6,000-person Public Health Service Commissioned Corpsís involvement in emergency preparedness and response activities. Dr. Redlener has been a formal and informal adviser to the President and various cabinet members since 1993, and served as a special consultant to the National Health Reform Task Force. He has won several awards for his humanitarian efforts, both at home and abroad, and has published numerous articles relating to health care for under-served children, health care reform, and planning for and responding to mega-disasters.
Further, Dr. Redlener is president and co-founder, with musician Paul Simon, of the Childrenís Health Fund (CHF). CHF has developed 22 pediatric programs providing medical care to children in the nation’s most under-served rural and urban communities, using mobile, school-based, and shelter-based clinics. He is the founder of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia Universityís School Mailman School of Public Health, where he is a Professor of Clinical Population and Clinical Health, and was appointed to the National Commission on Children and Disasters.
Dr. Redlener’s decades of experience in public health issues make him an extraordinary candidate for Surgeon General. Just as past Surgeon Generals have focused on the relevant health problems of their time, including smoking and AIDS, Dr. Redlener’s specialty relating to disaster preparedness and recovery will better prepare the United States for some of the greatest public health threats of modern times. For these reasons, the Disaster Accountability Project endorses Dr. Irwin Redlener as the next Surgeon General of the United States.
Sincerely,
Ben Smilowitz
Executive Director, Disaster Accountability Project
Anuj Khetarpal
Volunteer, Disaster Accountability Project
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