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The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin

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Lymed
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
I hope this means the administration recognizes real health reform needs to include a strengthening of primary care.
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thesciencegirl
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
I cannot begin to express how exciting it is for me as a woman of color med student interested in health disparities to see a woman of color physician combattng health disparities in her work to be on the national stage. Rare and refreshing, to find so apt a role model.
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thesciencegirl
07/13/09

@thesciencegirl: also, proof that fat =/= bad doctor. (duh).
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Lymed
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
"She's been called an angel in a white coat" - from NPR
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bionicbrooklynite
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
...and comments on NYT and WaPo politics blogs are about her appearance already, to whit: she can't be surgeon general because she is (hang on, can't say Black anymore...) teh fat.

Amazing how people can JUST TELL she is unhealthy from a picture of her shoulders and head. These folks should hire themselves out as MRI machines.
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laetitiae
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
Obama is introducing her right now on TV. She is *extraordinarily* qualified for this position (a long resume that Obama just recounted). I can't wait to hear her speak. She looks to be a woman of great expertise and empathy.
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laetitiae
07/13/09

@laetitiae: Her clinic was actually destroyed 3 times...first with Hurricane George, then with Hurricane Katrina, and finally with the fire.

She'd pay the prescription drugs for her patients who couldn't afford it. Made house calls when her clinic was destroyed those three times.
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Edited by laetitiae at 07/13/09 12:04 PM laetitiae was starred laetitiae was unstarred

laetitiae
07/13/09

@laetitiae: Her father died from diabetes and hypertension, her brother from complications from AIDs, and her mother from lung cancer. All of these, she noted, are preventable diseases.

And MSNBC just switched back to Sotomayor's confirmation hearing. Which gives me goosebumps. Moving from a black woman's introduction as the Surgeon General nominee (where a white woman was standing, as Secretary of Health and Human services, next to the President, to welcome her to the administration) to a Latino woman's confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court. It gives me shivers, it does. :)
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Edited by laetitiae at 07/13/09 12:10 PM laetitiae was starred laetitiae was unstarred

sshacker
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
Awesome. I am assuming this is a relatively uncontroversial position and there would be no problems in her getting confirmed.

I met another Dr. a few years ago that won the MacArthur genius award for her work on the breast cancer gene in African-American and West African Women.
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pandorasmittens
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
If they were West Coast oysters, I would barter my services as well.

Mmmm...hama hamas.
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mbprice
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
Philosophical question: If someone paid her in oysters, and one of the oysters contained a very expensive pearl, would she still be a good person if she kept it? Let's see what Sotomayor would say about that!
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J.D.Regent
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
thank god it is her and not that teevee doctor. whew!
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JennaW
07/13/09

@J.D.Regent: He took himself out of the running a few months ago. In any event, Regina sounds *way* awesomer.
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tonightineed is actually Mrs. Ziegler-Spock
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
"Her nonprofit clinic was rebuilt by volunteers after being destroyed by Katrina, only to burn down months later."

I sincerely hope her clinic wasn't sabotaged. She shows a lot of determination, I admire that.
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RomeoCachinga
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
My Mother was a hairstylist, she used to barter with our dentist. My sister and I got free teeth cleanings, and my Mom did the dentist and his wife's hair! I think it happens more than we think.
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Jack_Burton
07/13/09

@RomeoCachinga: Some might see this as OMG - SOCIALISM?!?!? while others might call it shrewd business-to-business networking or cross-promotion.
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applejuice
07/13/09

@RomeoCachinga: Just don't let the Taxman know about it. It's illegal if you don't declare it - which no one does (in the UK anyway, I'm guessing it is similar in the US.)
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Edited by applejuice at 07/13/09 12:21 PM applejuice was starred applejuice was unstarred

formergr
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
SO MUCH BETTER than Sanjay Gupta! She sounds awesome, and extremely competent...
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dreamweave
07/13/09

@formergr: I know, right? Like, why wasn't she the first choice?? Oh well - go Dr. Benjamin!
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desertbloom79
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
A surgeon general who understands that her job is to help the average American with their health? What? How can this be?
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Edited by desertbloom79 at 07/13/09 11:30 AM desertbloom79 was starred desertbloom79 was unstarred

AthertonMerriweather
07/13/09

In reply to The Next Surgeon General: Dr. Regina Benjamin
What a cool lady! How nice would it be if more people started doing that? Imagine you're a dentist and you traded cleanings for oil changes with a mechanic, or you were a cook and you traded meals with a seamstress for tailoring?
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Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: I think in with the way the economy is right now, a barter system would be brilliant.
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formergr
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: Hm, I'm trying to think what I could barter with-- not too many folks are looking for health policy analysis, I think, so I may have to offer sub-par cooking, mediocre home improvement skills, or pet care.
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alouette
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: My dad does some of this at his small town repair shop. It's a nice way to get things we may not have bought otherwise -- some great pottery, a new grill -- but enjoy nonetheless.
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AthertonMerriweather
07/13/09

@Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.: I've seen more and more ads under the barter category in Craigslist lately. Unfortunately, it hasn't been for anything I need, but the increase in ads may be due to our current state of economy.
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J.D.Regent
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: my dad is a country doctor and does this all the time! his partners can't stand it.
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Porcelina
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: There is a guy in my neighborhood that does work around my house for me and my mother in law. Fixes things, cleans the pool, etc. In exchange, I took him to my dentist and got his teeth fixed, and I also paid for his medication that he could not afford. Win win!
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dreamweave
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: My dad is a therapist and sometimes does this...for homemade cheese, firewood, fresh berries....he can only afford to do it every now and then for one or two clients, but does it when he can.
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AthertonMerriweather
07/13/09

@dreamweave: I make homemade almond butter. Would he shrink my head?
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TheFormerJuneBronson
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: We do this. My husband is an attorney, and we have a barter arrangement with our mechanic. I would willingly make a service-for-trade arrangment for a lot of other services.
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linnyt is a walking cliché
07/13/09

@AthertonMerriweather: I have an Interior Design degree. I should really post something on Craigslist to see what I can get for that.
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Lymed
07/13/09

@formergr: You could help people understand their health insurance benefits, or how the individual health insurance market works (or fails to work) when they need to buy insurance. I do this all the time for my friends.
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formergr
07/13/09

@Lymed: Good point! I do this all the time for friends and family (didn't even think about), and I continue to be amazed at how people manage to do this on their own without graduate-level education in this field. It really is ridiculous what it's come to...
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