American Osteopathic College of Anesthesiologists Vital Anesthesia Practice Optimization Review

The 20th Surgeon General of the United States

After growing up poor in a Southern rural community, Jerome Adams went on to lead the 6,000 person U.S. Public Health Service as “America’s Doctor” during a worldwide pandemic. As Surgeon General, he brought a passionate commitment to fighting issues that his own family and community experienced, including limited healthcare access, chronic disease, substance use disorder and ensuing stigma, tobacco addiction, maternal health, mental illness and the opioid epidemic. Dr. Adams’ talks merge his expertise at the forefront of national and global health policy with his own personal experiences: growing up with life-threatening asthma, as a brother to someone with substance use disorder, and as someone navigating politics to tirelessly champion the health of the vulnerable and voiceless during times of crisis.

Adams was awarded a scholarship to Indiana University Medical School, earned his Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley and went on to work in private practice as an anesthesiologist in rural Indiana. He was recruited back to Indiana University Medical School, rising to the rank of associate professor. During this time, Dr. Adams caught the eye of Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who appointed him as Indiana State Health Commissioner. Adams triumphed in that role, handling Ebola, Zika, the nation’s largest HIV and Hepatitis C outbreak associated with IV drug use, and a lead contamination situation in Northern Indiana that drew comparisons to the crisis in Flint, Michigan. His leadership during the HIV/Hepatitis C outbreak has been heralded for dramatically reducing infection via a needle exchange program that Dr. Adams championed through a highly conservative state legislature, paving the way for many other states to subsequently start or expand such services.

In 2016, Dr. Adams followed then-Vice President Pence to Washington as America’s 20th Surgeon General. He brought with him an ambitious goal to tackle the raging opioid crisis and make naloxone widely available. His agenda also included addressing health disparities such as maternal health and promoting community health and wellness through engagement with businesses and employers. As Surgeon General, Adams faced three category five hurricanes in a row, an e-cigarette/vaping epidemic among youth, and a once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic that was combined with a once-in-a-generation level of political strife and national division. Through it all, he stayed at the table, as one of the only high-level Black voices in the administration.  Throughout his career, he has continued a hands-on approach to medicine, maintaining hospital privileges and becoming the only Surgeon General in recent history to actively practice while in office.