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 September 12, 2007In March 2007, Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., the Acting Surgeon General of the United States, issued his office’s first Call to Action on underage drinking in hopes of doing more to stop the nation’s 11 million current underage drinkers from using alcohol, and to keep other young people from starting. On Sept. 12, Dr. Moritsugu will be at Stewart Theatre to address alcohol and its effects on the human brain. Dr. Moritsugu was appointed the Deputy Surgeon General by Assistant Secretary for Health and Surgeon General David Satcher on October 1, 1998. A career officer in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, he has served as the acting Surgeon General since August 2006. Dr. Moritsugu has been the federal representative to numerous national health care agencies and has provided consultation in health professions development to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Germany, Mexico and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. He served as the official U.S. observer to the Council of Europe's Select Committee of Experts on the Impact of the AIDS Epidemic on the Criminal Justice System in Strasbourg, France. Dr. Moritsugu has received numerous honors and awards, including the Surgeon General's Medal for Exemplary Service; the Surgeon General's Medallion; the Distinguished Service, the Meritorious Service, the Outstanding Service and the Commendation Medals of the U.S. Public Health Service. In 1997, the American Academy of Physician Assistants named him an Honorary Lifetime Member, a distinction granted to only a handful of non-Pas. In his official capacity, Dr. Moritsugu has been a dedicated advocate for organ and tissue donation and transplantation, and in his private capacity, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Secretary/Treasurer and Board member of the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium (WRTC) and member of the National Advisory Board for the Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP). He is an active volunteer with the Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO) and has been a past member of the Board of Trustees of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), the Executive Committee of the National Donor Family Council and the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium's Donor Family Council, its Public Affairs Committee and its Minority Affairs Committee. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Bio: Previous Speakers: |