Former surgeon general to discuss health care

President George W. Bush’s surgeon general from 2002-06 will speak at UCI at 3:30 p.m. today on the intersection of politics and public health.

Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th surgeon general of the United States, will talk on “Prevention, Preparedness, Plagues and Politics: the Life of the Surgeon General,” in the university’s Crystal Cove Auditorium in the Student Center.

He’ll speak on the merging of politics and health care and how they relate to the challenges of disease prevention, health disparities and the growing healthcare economic burden.

After Carmona left office in 2006, he was publicly critical of the interference and suppression of scientific findings for political and ideological purposes.

Carmona’s visit is part of UCI’s Distinguished Lecture Series, bringing global scholars to the school to discuss challenges and possibilities in our world. For more information, go to www.chancellor.uci.edu/cdfs.shtml.

— Joseph Serna