Lessons from a U.S. Surgeon General
Dr. Jerome Adams, the 20th Surgeon General of the United States, talks about his journey to serving in public policy and his efforts to lead American through pressing health challenges, like the opioid epidemic.
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Meet Our Guest
Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, FASA, is currently a Distinguished Professor of Practice in the departments of Pharmacy Practice and Public Health at Purdue University. As the 20th U.S. Surgeon General and a prior member of the President’s Coronavirus task force, Dr. Adams has been at the forefront of America’s most pressing health challenges. A regular communicator via tv, radio and in print, Dr. Adams is an expert not just in the science, but also in communicating the science to the lay public and making it relevant to various audiences. Dr. Adams is a licensed anesthesiologist with a master’s degree in public health, and he ran the Indiana State Department of Health prior to becoming Surgeon General. As Surgeon General, Dr. Adams was the operational head of the 6,000 person Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and he oversaw responses to three back-to-back category 5 hurricanes and to a once-in-a-century pandemic. In addition to his recent COVID-19 work, Dr. Adams has partnered with and assisted organizations as they navigate the opioid epidemic, maternal health, rising rates of chronic disease, the impacts of rising suicide rates in our nation and how businesses can become better stewards and stakeholders in promoting community health.
