Antonia Coello Novello, M.D., (born August 23, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. Novello is the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General. Novello also served as Commissioner of Health for the State of New York from 1999 to 2006.
Video Antonia Novello
Career
Public Health Service
In 1979, Novello joined the Public Health Service and received a commission in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC). Her first assignment was as a project officer at the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). From 1976, she also held a clinical appointment in pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine. During her years at NIH, Novello worked on an MPH degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, receiving the degree in 1982.
Novello held various positions at NIH before being appointed to Assistant Surgeon General grade in the PHSCC and assignment as the Deputy Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 1986. She also served as Coordinator for AIDS Research for NICHD from September 1987. In this role, she developed a particular interest in pediatric AIDS, which caught the attention of the White House.
Novello made major contributions to the drafting and enactment of the Organ Transplantation Procurement Act of 1984 while assigned to the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, working with the staff of committee chairman Orrin Hatch.
Pediatric nephrologist
In 1976, Novello opened her own private practice in Springfield, Virginia where she worked as a pediatrician. However, she soon realized that she lacked adequate emotional detachment for her work so she terminated her practice. Novello stated in an interview, "When the pediatrican cries as much as the parents do, then you know it's time to get out."
Surgeon General
Novello was appointed Surgeon General by President George H. W. Bush, beginning her tenure on March 9, 1990, and was appointed to the temporary rank of vice admiral in the regular corps while the Surgeon General. She was the first woman and the first Hispanic to hold the position.
During her tenure as Surgeon General, Novello focused her attention on the health of women, children and minorities, as well as on underage drinking, smoking, and AIDS. She played an important role in launching the Healthy Children Ready to Learn Initiative. She was actively involved in working with other organizations to promote immunization of children and childhood injury prevention efforts. She spoke out often and forcefully about illegal underage drinking, and called upon the United States Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General to issue a series of eight reports on the subject.
Novello also worked to discourage illegal tobacco use by young people, and repeatedly criticized the tobacco industry for appealing to the youth market through the use of cartoon characters such as Joe Camel. A workshop that she convened led to the emergence of a National Hispanic/Latino Health Initiative.
Novello was controversial among abortion rights advocates due to her support of a policy prohibiting family planning program workers who received federal financing from discussing abortion with their patients.
Novello left the post of Surgeon General on June 30, 1993, with the administration of President Bill Clinton praising her for her "vigor and talent."
Later years
After leaving the position of Surgeon General, Novello remained in the regular corps of the Public Health Service. She was assigned the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Special Representative for Health and Nutrition from 1993 to 1996 reverting to her permanent two-star rank of rear admiral. In 1996, she became Visiting Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She retired from the Public Health Service and the PHSCC shortly after with the grade of vice admiral.
In 1999, Governor of New York George Pataki appointed Novello as the Commissioner of Health for the State of New York. She served until 2006. Since 2008, Novello has been vice president of Women and Children Health and Policy Affairs at Disney Children's Hospital at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida.
As of December 31, 2014, Novello retired from her position as an Executive Director of Public Health Policy at Florida Hospital - Orlando.
Maps Antonia Novello
Awards
- Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal
- Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medal
- Public Health Service Commendation Medal
- Public Health Service Outstanding Unit Citation
- Public Health Service Unit Commendation
- Public Health Service Foreign Duty Service Award
- Public Health Service Regular Corps Ribbon
- Association of Military Surgeons of the United States
- Reserve Officers Association
Badges:
- Surgeon General Badge
Early life
Antonia Novello, born on August 23, 1944 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, was the oldest of three children. Growing up, she was raised primarily by her mother, Ana Delia Flores because her father died when she was eight years old. At birth, Novello was diagnosed with Congenital megacolon, a painful condition that required Novello to make frequent trips to the hospital. Although Novello was told at eight years old that she should have surgery to correct her problem, it would take another 10 years before such an operation would happen. Nevertheless, Novello managed to excel in her study to become a doctor. Her experience with that disease, left such an impact on her that she vowed to become a doctor so that "no other person is going to wait 18 years for surgery.
Education
At an early age, Antonia's Mother, a school teacher and later high school principal, stressed the importance of an education. Novello excelled in her education and graduated from high school at the age of 15. She attended the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1965. She went on to medical school in University of Puerto Rico in San Juan where she received her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1970. That same year, she married Joseph R. Novello and they both moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where she continued her medical studies. Novello began a pediatric internship at University of Michigan Medical School. She became the first woman to receive the "University of Michigan Pediatrics Department Intern of the Year" award. In 1973, Novello and her husband moved to Washington D.C. to being her residency in pediatric nephrology at Georgetown University School of Medicine Hospital until 1976.
Marriage
Novello was married to former US Navy flight surgeon and psychiatrist, Joseph R. Novello. She was the sister-in-law of Saturday Night Live alumnus Don Novello, creator of the character persona Father Guido Sarducci.
Felony conviction
In response to a complaint by a former New York State Department of Health employee that Novello used her departmental staff for personal purposes unrelated to her official duties, the New York State Inspector General launched an investigation and in January 2009 produced a report stating that while serving as Health Commissioner, she had routinely abused her authority over department personnel, "turn[ing] her staff at the Health Department into her personal chauffeurs, porters and shopping assistants during her seven-year tenure," and referred a criminal case against her to Albany County District Attorney David Soares. On May 11, 2009, Novello was charged with one count of defrauding the government, three counts of filing a false instrument, and 16 counts of theft of government services. At her arraignment by Judge Stephen Herrick, and represented by attorney E. Stewart Jones, she pleaded not guilty to all charges, but on June 26, 2009, in a plea deal with prosecutors, she pleaded guilty to one felony count of filing a false instrument involving a worker's duties in exchange for a light sentence and dropping the other charges. Her guilty plea was accepted by the court on August 13, 2009.
She was sentenced to pay $22,500 in restitution, a $5,000 fine, and spend 250 hours doing community service at a medical clinic for uninsured patients. Outside the court immediately after the sentencing, Novello called herself a victim of former co-workers and her lawyer called the crime an "administrative processing offense - nothing else."
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
- History of women in Puerto Rico
References
External links
- Office of Public Health and Science (January 4, 2007). "Office of the Surgeon General: William H. Stewart (1965-1969)". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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