Antonia coello novello famous for
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Antonia Novello
14th Surgeon General of the United States
Antonia Coello Novello (born August 23, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. Novello was the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General. Novello also served as Commissioner of Health for the State of New York from 1999 to 2006. Novello has received numerous awards including more than fifty honorary degrees, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2000, and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[1] Her memoir, Duty Calls: Lessons Learned from an Unexpected Life of Service, was published in 2024.[2]
Early life
[edit]Antonia Novello, born on August 23, 1944, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, was the oldest of two children; she also had a half-brother. After her divorce, her mother, Ana dem
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Novello, Antonia (1944—)
American physician who was surgeon general of the United States from 1990 to 1993. Born Antonia Coello on August 23, 1944, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico; oldest of three children of Antonio Coello and Ana Delia Coello (a school principal); University of Puerto Rico, B.S., 1965, M.D., 1970; pediatric training at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; training and residency in pediatric nephrology at the University of Michigan Medical Center (1973–74), and Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, D.C. (1974–75); Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, M.A., 1982; married Joseph Novello (a psychiatrist), in 1970; no children.
On March 9, 1990, Antonia Novello took the oath of office as the first woman and the first Hispanic surgeon general of the United States, embarking on a mission to "protect, improve, and advance the health of all the American people." Appointed to the office by President George Bush, and replacing the often outspoke
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A dedicated public health advocate, Antonia Novello made history as the first female and first Hispanic U.S. Surgeon General in 1990. Novello has led several major public health campaigns in her efforts to improve health conditions and access to medical care, especially for women, children, and minority populations.
Antonia Novello was born Antonia Coello in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on August 23, 1944, the eldest of three children. Novello’s father, Antonio Coello, passed away when she was young and her mother, Ana Delia Flores Coello, worked as a school teacher and principal. Her mother emphasized the importance of education, hard work, and respect and care for others, all lessons that Novello took to heart.
As a child, Novello suffered from a condition called congenital megacolon, an abnormality of the large intestine. The condition limited her energy and activities. Her family could not afford the surgery that would correct it, so she spent her summers getting interim treatment i