A Baldwin High School graduate who rose through the ranks of the nation’s uniformed public health service will soon be tapped by President Joe Biden as acting surgeon general of the United States.
Rear Adm. Susan Orsega, who graduated from Baldwin in the class of 1986, will soon take over the post that’s defined by the government as the “nation’s top doctor,” The Washington Post reported this week.
Though Mr. Biden hasn’t yet announced her appointment, Ms. Orsega, a nurse practitioner, was listed as acting surgeon general on the Department of Health and Human Services’ official website as of Tuesday evening.
The appointment of an acting surgeon general would bridge the gap until the Senate holds confirmation hearings for Mr. Biden’s official nominee, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served in the role under former President Barack Obama.
Dr. Murthy’s confirmation hearings have yet to be scheduled, the Post reported.
Ms. Orsega directs the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and oversees its 6,500 uniformed professional health professionals, who “serve throughout the nation, including in communities most in need, by providing essential public health, health care and other services,” according to the government’s site.
Her bio says she had managed international research and government partnerships at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — where she helped play a role in the response to Ebola — before serving as chief nurse officer for the Commissioned Corps.
Mr. Biden has indicated that he views the surgeon general position as a “key public voice in our COVID response, to restore public trust and faith in science and medicine,” according to written remarks at the time of Dr. Murthy’s nomination.
The president called Dr. Murthy a “renowned physician and research scientist” and “trusted national leader on health care.”
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1952, Twitter @julianrouth.
First Published: January 26, 2021, 11:27 p.m.
