A reception and lecture are planned at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) the first week in April to honor Joycelyn Elders, M.D., 15th US Surgeon General. An Arkansas native, Dr. Elders is a UAMS alumna, as well as Professor Emeritus of Pediatric Endocrinology and Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management at UAMS.
From 4 pm to 6 pm on April 7, a reception honoring Dr. Elders will be in the UAMS Hospital Lobby Gallery. On April 8, from 12 noon to 1 pm, Associated Press medical correspondent Mike Stobbe, DrPH, author of Surgeon General’s Warning: How Politics Crippled the Nation’s Doctor, will give a lecture in the 8th floor auditorium at the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health (COPH). The two events are open to the public.
Dr. Stobbe’s lecture is part of the UAMS Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series and celebrates National Public Health Week. It is presented by the UAMS colleges of Medicine and Public Health, the Arkansas Department of Health, UAMS Library and the Society for the History of Medicine and the Health Professions. Continuing education credit is available for attendees.
The lecture will cover the history and duties of the office of the surgeon general and its influence on health policy, highlighting how outspoken surgeons general such as Luther Terry, C. Everett Koop and Joycelyn Elders advanced the nation’s understanding about public health issues.
“We are so pleased to have Mike Stobbe here to talk about his book, Surgeon General’s Warning,” said Jim Raczynski, Ph.D., founding COPH dean. “Clearly his talk will be a great discussion of American public health that will be highly engaging for both the general public as well as our students, physicians, and faculty. Mike’s book is a rich history of public health, but is particularly interesting as a window through which to see debates of public health officials at the highest level.”
Dr. Stobbe holds a Doctor of Public Health degree in public health policy and administration from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. As a writer for The Associated Press, he covers the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a wide range of health and medical topics.
The book Surgeon General’s Warning: How Politics Crippled the Nation’s Doctor (University of California Press, 2014) traces the unique impact that the office of the US Surgeon General has on public health debates, with an in-depth look at each holder of that office. The book also explores how the power and influence of the surgeon general has compared against other high-profile public health officials, such as the directors of the CDC and the federal Department of Health and Human Services.