Garrett Adams, M.D., M.P.H., Louisville, Ky.
Dr. Garrett Adams is president of PNHP. A pediatrician specializing in infectious disease and infectious disease epidemiology in Louisville, Ky., he received his undergraduate and masterâs degrees from Vanderbilt University and medical degree from Wake Forest University. He completed his residency at Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Childrenâs Hospital of Los Angeles. He is retired from being a full-time faculty member at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where he was chief of pediatric infectious diseases. He has also served as medical director of communicable diseases at the Louisville Metro Health Department. Since retiring, he has founded the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, a comprehensive ambulatory clinic in the underserved community of Beersheba Springs, Tenn. For 40 years Dr. Adams attended the health care needs of sick children and their young families. Video footage of his recent testimony before U.S. Senate subcommittee on the topic of poverty and health is available here (starting at the 40 second mark).
Olveen Carrasquillo, M.D., M.P.H., Miami, Fla.
Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo is a nationally recognized expert on health disparities. He is an associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. His research interests include minority health, health insurance, managed care and access to care, particularly among Latinos. Prior to his position in Miami, he was on the faculty of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons for 12 years and directed their NIH-designated Center of Excellence in Health Disparities Research. Dr. Carrasquillo serves on the Advisory Committee of the HHS Office of Minority Health. He is available for interviews in English and Spanish.
Andrew D. Coates, M.D., Albany, N.Y.
Dr. Andy Coates is president-elect of PNHP. He is assistant professor of medicine and psychiatry at Albany Medical College. Board certified in internal medicine as well as hospice and palliative care medicine, he sees patients in a variety of clinical settings in the Albany area. Dr. Coates graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a residency in primary care medicine and served as a traditional chief resident in medicine at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y. A national board member of PNHP and chair of the Capital District chapter of PNHP, helped found Single Payer New York, a statewide grassroots coalition of single-payer organizations and activists. Video footage of his remarks at a lobby day for single-payer health reform in New York is available here (at 6:16 mark).
Claudia Fegan, M.D., Chicago
Dr. Claudia Fegan is chief medical officer at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County Health and Hospitals System and past president of PNHP. An internist who has practice in both private settings and in large public systems, she has lectured extensively to both medical and lay audiences on health care reform across the United States. She is co-author of the book “Universal Health Care: What the United States Can Learn from Canada” and a contributor to another book, “10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care.” The daughter of labor union organizer and a social worker, Dr. Fegan received her undergraduate degree from Fisk University and her M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Clips from her recent appearance on MSNBCâs âUp with Chris Hayesâ are available here.
Oliver Fein, M.D., New York City
Dr. Oliver Fein is immediate past president of PNHP. A general internist who is active in clinical practice, he is also professor of clinical medicine and clinical public health at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he serves as associate dean responsible for the Office of Affiliations and the Office of Global Health Education. Dr. Fein has advocated for an expanded role for primary care, for academic health centers in urban health care delivery systems, and for national health system reform. He was Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow during 1993-1994, when he worked in the office of Senate Democratic Majority Leader George Mitchell. He spent 17 years at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center developing community-based ambulatory care practices and the Division of General Medicine. He is chair of the N.Y. Metro chapter of PNHP and past vice president of the American Public Health Association. Dr. Fein participated in the 2009 White House Summit on Health Reform as a result of public pressure. Video footage of Dr. Fein on âDemocracy Nowâ is available here (at the 32:50 mark).
David Himmelstein, M.D., New York City/Boston
Dr. David Himmelstein, a co-founder of PNHP, is professor at the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and visiting professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. As a practicing internist, he has also served as chief of the division of social and community medicine at Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, Mass. He co-founded the Center for a National Health Program Studies at Harvard. Dr. Himmelstein co-edits PNHPâs newsletter and is a principal author of PNHP articles published in the JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine and other professional journals. His research focuses on problems in access to care, administrative waste, and the advantages of a national health program. In 2009 he co-authored, with Dr. Steffie Woolhandler and others, a study published in the American Journal of Medicine showing that medical bills and illness are now linked to 62 percent of all personal bankruptcies, with 78 percent of those bankrupted having had insurance when they got sick. In 2009 he testified before the House Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, one of many occasions where he has spoken before Congress. Video footage of his appearance on PBSâs âBill Moyers Journalâ is available here (at the 7:40 mark).
David Scheiner, M.D., Chicago
Dr. David Scheiner, an internist, was President Barack Obama’s personal physician from 1987 till 2008 while the latter was based in Chicago. He is a member of PNHP and an outspoken advocate of single-payer health reform. Dr. Scheiner graduated from Princeton University and obtained his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He has practiced internal medicine in Chicagoâs Hyde Park community for more than four decades. During the 2009 health reform debate, Dr. Scheiner appeared on numerous television and radio programs. Video footage of his appearance on CNN News is available here.
Paul Y. Song, M.D., Los Angeles
Paul Y. Song, M.D., is a board-certified radiation oncologist and board member of PNHP-California. He is on the faculty at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and an adjunct faculty member at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Dr. Song graduated from the University of Chicago with honors and received his medical degree from George Washington University. He completed his residency in radiation oncology at University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Song was a frequent contributor to “Larry King Live” during the health care reform debate of 2009 and is a regular contributor to Extra TV for cancer-related topics. He is active in numerous civic organizations, including several that focus on issues facing Asian Americans. He resides in Santa Monica, Calif. Video footage of Dr. Song on CNNâs âLarry King Liveâ is available here (at the 2:56 mark).
Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H., New York City/Boston
Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a co-founder of PHNP, is professor at the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and visiting professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She has served as co-director of Harvardâs General Internal Medicine Fellowship program, and worked for many years as a primary care physician at Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, Mass. She served in 1990-91 as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation health policy fellow at the Institute of Medicine and the U.S. Congress. Dr. Woolhandler is a frequent speaker and has written extensively on health policy. She is a principal author of many PNHP articles published in the JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine and other professional journals. In 2009, she testified before the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law about medical causes of bankruptcy. She also co-authored, with Dr. David Himmelstein and others, a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health showing that nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance. A clip from a recent appearance on âDemocracy Nowâ is available here (beginning at the 18:40 mark).
Quentin D. Young, M.D., Chicago
Dr. Quentin Young, an internist who recently retired from a decades-long practice in the Hyde Park community on Chicagoâs South Side, is national coordinator of PNHP. He is clinical professor of preventive medicine and community health at the University of Illinois Medical Center. Dr. Young graduated from Northwestern Medical School and did his residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he served as chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at Cook County, where he established the Department of Occupational Medicine. He has been a member of the American Medical Association since 1952. In addition distinguished career as a physician, Dr. Young has been a leader in public health policy and medical and social justice issues. He was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal physician during Dr. King’s stays in Chicago. In 1998, he had the distinction of serving as president of the American Public Health Association and in 1997 was inducted as a master of the American College of Physicians. Audio and video footage of his recent appearance on TalkingStick TV in Washington state is available here (beginning at the 9:29 mark).