WASHINGTON, D.C. - Vivek Hallegere Murthy, President Obama’s for Surgeon General on Feb 4 recalled his India experience wherein he helped train young women to be health care educators and leaders, during his confirmation hearing before a senate committee. “I built a rural community health partnership in India called Swasthya to train young women to be health care educators and leaders...
Through these experiences, I learned how to conceive and execute community-wide health projects that respected cultural and geographic differences,” Dr Murthy told members of Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labour and Pensions. “As a public health educator, I created HIV/AIDS education programmes for tens of thousands of youth through an organisation I co-founded call VISIONS,” said Dr Murthy, who if confirmed by the senate would be the first Indian-American to occupy the post of the top American doctor responsible for the country’s health care.
Introducing him before the committee, the Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said that Murthy has demonstrated his extraordinary leadership and is fit to be the country’s 21st century Surgeon-General. Describing himself as son of an immigrant parent, Murthy, 36, said his grandfather was a poor farmer, who fought for freedom in India. Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Health Committee said should that Murthy be confirmed, his calm demeanour, his excellent ability to communicate with Americans from all backgrounds, and his medical and public health expertise will be invaluable assets during the times that Americans are most concerned about their health and safety. “He is an extraordinary physician, and exceptionally well-qualified to lead our national prevention and wellness efforts,” Harkin said. Murthy is co-founder and president of Doctors for America, a position he has held since 2009. In his remarks, Senator Lamar Alexander was highly critical of Murthy and described him more as a political appointment rather than having enough credentials to occupy the top health care post of the country. Alexander was also very critical of Murthy’s views on the sensitive issue of gun control. Responding to question by Senator Alexander, Murthy said if confirmed, he hoped to build communities and coalition to improve health care of the country. “I do not intend to use my office as Surgeon General as bully puppet on gun control,” Murthy responded explaining that his views on gun control are based on his experience as a doctor and treating people who are victims of gun violence. Murthy told lawmakers that “reducing obesity” in the country would be his top priority as Surgeon-General. Midway through his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health Committee, Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia asked Vivek Murthy, nominee for US surgeon general, whether he had met Dr Raj Shah, USAID administrator, and the highest-ranked Indian-American in the Obama administration. No I haven’t, Murthy replied. You should, Senator Isakson advised him; you guys have the same background and same heritage, and you can learn from the great job he has done at USAID. Like Raj Shah, the 41-year-old Detroit-born USAID administrator, Murthy is also a young physician who was born abroad (in UK), but has cut his developmental teeth in India (both of them worked in the boondocks in Karnataka after getting their medical degree in the US. In fact, Murthy is so young (he’s only 37) that the joke before the hearing was that the only thing that stood between him and the confirmation was his age. In the nearly 150-year history of the office of the surgeon-general, who is basically the nation’s doctor, no one below 50 has ever occupied the post. But with flecks of grey hair (he must have colored it grey, someone else joked) on his young head, Murthy took on questions with aplomb, after dedicating his rise in the US to his father Halligere Murthy, his mother Maithreyi, and his sister Rashmi Murthy, also a physician. The expected fireworks on account of Murthy’s close identification with Obamacare (he was one of the early backers) was yet to come at the time of writing, but there was plenty of tough questioning from Republican Senators in a Democratic-majority committee where ruling party lawmakers heartily endorsed him.
Introducing him before the committee, the Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said that Murthy has demonstrated his extraordinary leadership and is fit to be the country’s 21st century Surgeon-General. Describing himself as son of an immigrant parent, Murthy, 36, said his grandfather was a poor farmer, who fought for freedom in India. Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Health Committee said should that Murthy be confirmed, his calm demeanour, his excellent ability to communicate with Americans from all backgrounds, and his medical and public health expertise will be invaluable assets during the times that Americans are most concerned about their health and safety. “He is an extraordinary physician, and exceptionally well-qualified to lead our national prevention and wellness efforts,” Harkin said. Murthy is co-founder and president of Doctors for America, a position he has held since 2009. In his remarks, Senator Lamar Alexander was highly critical of Murthy and described him more as a political appointment rather than having enough credentials to occupy the top health care post of the country. Alexander was also very critical of Murthy’s views on the sensitive issue of gun control. Responding to question by Senator Alexander, Murthy said if confirmed, he hoped to build communities and coalition to improve health care of the country. “I do not intend to use my office as Surgeon General as bully puppet on gun control,” Murthy responded explaining that his views on gun control are based on his experience as a doctor and treating people who are victims of gun violence. Murthy told lawmakers that “reducing obesity” in the country would be his top priority as Surgeon-General. Midway through his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health Committee, Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia asked Vivek Murthy, nominee for US surgeon general, whether he had met Dr Raj Shah, USAID administrator, and the highest-ranked Indian-American in the Obama administration. No I haven’t, Murthy replied. You should, Senator Isakson advised him; you guys have the same background and same heritage, and you can learn from the great job he has done at USAID. Like Raj Shah, the 41-year-old Detroit-born USAID administrator, Murthy is also a young physician who was born abroad (in UK), but has cut his developmental teeth in India (both of them worked in the boondocks in Karnataka after getting their medical degree in the US. In fact, Murthy is so young (he’s only 37) that the joke before the hearing was that the only thing that stood between him and the confirmation was his age. In the nearly 150-year history of the office of the surgeon-general, who is basically the nation’s doctor, no one below 50 has ever occupied the post. But with flecks of grey hair (he must have colored it grey, someone else joked) on his young head, Murthy took on questions with aplomb, after dedicating his rise in the US to his father Halligere Murthy, his mother Maithreyi, and his sister Rashmi Murthy, also a physician. The expected fireworks on account of Murthy’s close identification with Obamacare (he was one of the early backers) was yet to come at the time of writing, but there was plenty of tough questioning from Republican Senators in a Democratic-majority committee where ruling party lawmakers heartily endorsed him.
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