By THOMAS GRILLO
SALEM — Dr. Antonia Novello, the first Hispanic woman to serve as U.S. Surgeon General, will speak at a series of events in Greater Boston next week.
She will speak on making history as the first Latina surgeon general, health care disparities, engaging the next generation workforce, strengthening the Latino pipeline into STEM fields and the vision and voice of women.
Hosted by the Association of Latino Professionals for America and Salem State University, the 73-year-old native of Puerto Rico will attend events in Salem, Haverhill, Lawrence and Boston.
During her tenure under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Novello focused on the health of young people, women, and minorities, spoke out on under-age drinking, smoking, drug abuse, AIDS, childhood immunization and improved health care for Hispanics and other minorities.
In 1999, she was appointed commissioner of the New York State Health and was responsible for disaster management following the 9/11 attacks.
During the week of March 20-25, Novello will attend events at Salem High School, Collins Middle School in Salem, Simmons College, Salem State University, Salvatore’s Restaurant in Lawrence, Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Eastern Bank, both in Boston.
“It is a true historic moment to host Dr. Novello in Boston at a time where there is much conversation on health care issues impacting Latinos,” said Enna Jimenez, president of the Association for Latino Professionals For America, in a statement.
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Novello received her B.S. from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras in 1965 and her M.D. degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine at San Juan in 1970. She completed her residency in nephrology at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.
In 1978, Novello joined the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, her first assignment being as a project officer at the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She held various positions at NIH, rising to deputy director in 1986.
Novello earned a masters in public health from John Hopkins in 1982. Novello was appointed Surgeon General by Bush in 1990.
In 2009, Novello ran afoul of the law. She pleaded guilty to a felony charge as part of a plea deal to avoid prison time. The doctor admitted she forced state employees to handle personal chores when she was the New York’s health commissioner. The deal called for community service, $22,500 in restitution and a $5,000 fine. Novello faced up to 12 years in prison if convicted. Investigators said Novello used state workers to chauffeur her on shopping trips and rearrange heavy furniture at her apartment.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected]. Material from Associated Press was used in this report.
