Sugeon General Satcher to Accept Position at Morehouse
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher is expected to announce on Jan. 15 that he will become director of the Morehouse University School of Medicine's new National Center for Primary Care, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Satcher, appointed by President Clinton in 1998, will end his term as Surgeon General on Feb. 13, then return to Atlanta, where he was director of the CDC from 1993-1998. The Journal-Constitution reports that Satcher "raised the ire" of the Bush administration recently when he issued a report saying that abstinence-only sexual education programs were not effective (Guthrie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/15). Satcher's priorities during his tenure as surgeon general included fighting obesity, mental health stigma and suicide. He also became a vocal proponent for eliminating racial disparities in health care (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report). The Journal-Constitution reports that the National Center for Primary Care is a "combination think tank and facility aimed at improving health care access for minority and poor populations" and "eliminating disparities." Morehouse officials said that the center's 105,000-square-foot facility will open in the fall, but will not be used to see patients "clinically." Instead, the center will work to develop programs to "better reach those who historically have been the 'have-nots' of health care" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/15). Satcher earned his bachelor's degree from Morehouse, a historically black college and the country's "largest liberal arts college for men," and served as a professor in its school of medicine prior to becoming director of the CDC (USA Today, 1/15).
Next in Line?
As a potential replacement for Satcher, the Bush administration has "floated" Dr. Kenneth Cooper, a Dallas-based doctor who has served as President Bush's personal physician. Cooper is the founder of a line of nutritional supplements and the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas (American Health Line, 11/7/01).
