Filling a post which has been vacant for some time now, President Obama has tapped an African-American rural Alabama family physician to be this nation’s next surgeon general.

Obama says Dr. Regina Benjamin understands the needs of the poor and uninsured, making her uniquely qualified to be America’s doctor as his administration tries to revamp the health care system. For her part, Benjamin on Monday ticked off preventable diseases that have claimed nearly all her relatives — diabetes, high blood pressure, lung cancer. She pledged to fight so that, in her words, “no one falls through the cracks as we improve our health care system.”

Understanding the plight of the underserved as it relates to healthcare access is a huge PR move for an administration currently under fire for losing control of the current heatlhcare reform debate. | LINK

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