Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - July 23, 2002
Steve Mitchell, UPI Medical Correspondent
Although Carmona had a controversial past while working as a trauma surgeon in Arizona and was opposed by a consumer advocacy group, he met little resistance in the Senate.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee that last week approved Carmona's nomination to go to the Senate floor, said Tuesday, "In both (Carmona's) oral testimony and in response to written questions from the Committee, he satisfactorily addressed difficult questions relating to his professional qualifications, his employment history, and his management abilities."
Allegations about Carmona's past were brought out when he appeared before the Committee July 9, including he was an ineffective personnel manager, he had required three attempts to pass the board certification test for general surgery and he misrepresented the number of hours he actually had worked in the emergency room on an application for an emergency medicine board certification.
The Senate Committee largely dismissed these charges. However, the consumer group Public Citizen opposed Carmona because, the group said, the charges raised questions about his integrity. Public Citizen also objected to the fact that Carmona is a surgeon who does not have the broad public health background that would be more suitable for the position of surgeon general.
Carmona is known for his experience in bioterrorism and emergency preparedness plans, which was cited by Kennedy as making him an ideal candidate to deal with the current threat of biological weapons.
"Dr. Carmona also impressed us with his commitment to preventive health, and made particularly clear his intention to aggressively oppose tobacco use by our children and youth and to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic," Kennedy said on the floor of the Senate.
Kennedy noted Carmona is endorsed by the National Safe Kids Campaign, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the American Medical Association, the American Dental Association, and the National Hispanic Medical Association.
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