10 things you didn’t know about surgeon general nominee Dr. Regina Benjamin

Obama picks Alabamian for top doctor post

President Obama selected Bayou La Batre’s Dr. Regina Benjamin as his surgeon general on Monday. Born in Mobile, she earned her medical degree at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

She is perhaps best known for building a clinic in rural Bayou La Batre and then rebuilding it after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Benjamin served as the first black female trustee (and first doctor under age 40) for the American Medical Association.

What else should you know about this Alabamian? Funny you should ask …

We present 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Surgeon General Nominee Dr. Regina Benjamin.

1. Pope Benedict XVI awarded her the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. It’s the highest award conferred by the Pope to the laity. [Associated Press]

2. She spent $800 to open her clinic in 1990. It was destroyed by Hurricane Georges in 1998, so she built further inland (yet still owed $170,000 on the previous building). The second clinic was wiped out by Katrina in 2005. [Reader’s Digest]

3. The third clinic? Extensively damaged by fire. On New Year’s Day 2006, one day before it was scheduled to open. The clinic “operates out of a tiny rented house, while Benjamin raises cash to build anew.” [U.S. News and World Report]

4. She’s a “Genius.” The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation selected her for a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship (“genius award”) in 2008. [MacArthur Foundation]

5. Her speaker’s fee? $5,000 to $10,000. Although that will likely end as a government official under ethics guidelines. [Speakers on Healthcare]

6. She’s a hugger. “The doctor and her staff reciprocate, dispensing hugs as an essential ingredient of high-quality health care.” [U.S. News and World Report]

7. She’s Catholic and supports abortion rights. But her Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic doesn’t perform abortions. [Miami Herald]

8. Besides her medical degree, she also has an MBA from Tulane University. She graduated from UAB in 1984 and earned her Master of Business Administration in 1991 from the Freeman School of Business. [Tulane University]

9. Her father had diabetes and high blood pressure. Her brother died from HIV, her mother from lung cancer. She wants to combat what she calls “preventable diseases.” [Associated Press]

10. She was Obama’s second choice for the position. First choice? CNN correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. [CNN]