Antonia Coello Novello is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. Novello was the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General. Novello also served as Commissioner of Health for the State of New York from 1999 to 2006. Novello has received numerous awards including more than fifty honorary degrees, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2000, and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
A nurse anesthetist is an advanced practice nurse who administers anesthesia for surgery or other medical procedures. They are involved in the administration of anesthesia in a majority of countries, with varying levels of autonomy.
A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is a type of advanced practice nurse who administers anesthesia in the United States. CRNAs account for approximately half of the anesthesia providers in the United States and are the main providers (80%) of anesthesia in rural America. Historically, nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia care to patients for over 150 years since the American Civil War and the CRNA credential came into existence in 1956. CRNA schools issue a doctorate of nursing anesthesia degree to nurses who have completed a program in anesthesia, which is roughly 3 years in length.
Second Lieutenant Carmen Maria Lozano Dumler, RN,, was one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army officer. During World War II, she served as a nurse and interpreter, and provided support for patients who spoke Spanish. Lozano Dumler has since been featured in promotional and recruitment materials that celebrate diversity in the US military.
The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army (AMEDD), formerly known as the Army Medical Service (AMS), encompasses the Army's six medical Special Branches. It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the medical care required by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The AMEDD is led by the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, a lieutenant general.
The United States Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) consists of the five distinct medical corps of the Air Force and enlisted medical technicians. The AFMS was created in 1949 after the newly independent Air Force's first Surgeon General, Maj. General Malcolm C. Grow (1887–1960), convinced the United States Army and President Harry S. Truman that the Air Force needed its own medical service.
Kevin Christopher Kiley is a former lieutenant general in the United States Army who served as the 41st Surgeon General of the United States Army and the commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and North Atlantic Regional Medical Command twice, from 2002 to 2004, and as acting commander, March 1–2, 2007. He submitted his request to retire from the U.S. Army on March 11, 2007, in the wake of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal, and was removed from his nominative billet as a lieutenant general. Pending retirement, he was assigned to a temporary billet at the General Officer Management Office at the Pentagon in the grade major general. His retirement in the grade of major general was subsequently approved.
James Benjamin Peake was the sixth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving from 2007 to 2009. In 2004, he retired from a 38-year United States Army career. He also served as the 40th Surgeon General of the United States Army.
S. Ward "Trip" Casscells was an American cardiologist who served with the U.S. Army in Iraq and later was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Among other honors, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Army's Order of Military Medical Merit, and the General Maxwell Thurman Award.
The Military Health System (MHS) is a form of nationalized health care operated within the United States Department of Defense that provides health care to active duty, Reserve component and retired U.S. Military personnel and their dependents.
Donald Caldwell Arthur Jr. is a former United States Navy medical corps vice admiral (VADM). He entered the Navy in 1974, qualified as both a naval flight surgeon and a Submarine Medical Officer, and eventually served as the 35th Surgeon General of the United States Navy from 2004 to 2007.
The United States military formerly excluded gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians from service. In 1993, the United States Congress passed, and President Bill Clinton signed, a law instituting the policy commonly referred to as "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT), which allowed gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve as long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation. Although there were isolated instances in which service personnel were met with limited success through lawsuits, efforts to end the ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people serving either legislatively or through the courts initially proved unsuccessful.
Anita Rosalie Newcomb McGee was an American medical doctor who is remembered for her work with the United States military.
The United States Army Nurse Corps (USANC) was formally established by the U.S. Congress in 1901. It is one of the six medical special branches of officers which – along with medical enlisted soldiers – comprise the Army Medical Department (AMEDD). The ANC is the nursing service for the U.S. Army and provides nursing staff in support of the Department of Defense medical plans. The ANC is composed entirely of Registered Nurses (RNs) but also includes Nurse Practitioners.
Brigadier General Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti is a retired officer of the United States Air Force, who in 1985 became the first Hispanic female to attain the rank of Brigadier General. Vigil-Schimmenti was the Chief of the United States Air Force Nurse Corps, Office of the Surgeon General; Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
Loree K. Sutton is an American psychiatrist and retired military officer who served as a brigadier general in the United States Army. Sutton served for over 20 years and was awarded a Bronze Star. From 2007 to 2010, She was the Army's highest-ranking psychiatrist. In 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Sutton as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans' Services. Sutton was a candidate in the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary.
AMSUS, The Society of Federal Health Professionals, is a non-profit (501c3) professional association for all U.S. federal health professionals serving in the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Homeland Security. It was originally known as the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States. The name was changed to reflect that membership is open to all federal health professionals: physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, psychologists, dentists, optometrists, social workers, other allied healthcare professionals, and healthcare executives.
Jimmie O. Keenan is a retired major general of the United States Army. She served as the Deputy Commanding General of the Medical Command and also the Chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps before retiring on January 1, 2016. She now works at WellMed Medical Management in San Antonio, Texas.
There have been women in the United States Army since the Revolutionary War, and women continue to serve in it today. As of 2020, there were 74,592 total women on active duty in the US Army, with 16,987 serving as officers and 57,605 enlisted. While the Army has the highest number of total active duty members, the ratio of women-men is lower than the US Air Force and the US Navy, with women making up 15.5% of total active duty Army in 2020.
Paula C. Lodi is a United States Army major general who serves as Commanding General of the 18th Medical Command since June 15, 2022. She previously served as Deputy Commanding General for Support of the United States Army Medical Command from July 2021 to May 2022. Lodi was the first female commander of the 44th Medical Brigade. She is also the younger sister of Lieutenant General Maria Barrett. Lodi and Barrett are the United States Army's first ever sister General Officer tandem.
