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Texas fitness expert Dr. Kenneth
Cooper may be President Bush's choice to be the
nation's next Surgeon General.
Cooper, 70, is the founder
of the Cooper Institute
in Dallas, a renowned preventive medicine and wellness center.
An article in the Dallas Star-Telegram quoted one insider as saying that
his selection as the next Surgeon General is "a done deal."
President Bush, before he was
president, did come to the Cooper Clinic.
White House spokesmen were
unavailable to comment and spokespersons at the Department of Health and
Human Services declined to answer questions on the nomination. The search
for a new Surgeon General is underway now that Dr. David Satcher, who
has held the post since 1998, officially announced his resignation January
15 in Atlanta.
Satcher, whose term is due
to end February 13,
has said repeatedly that he would not seek to stay on as Surgeon General
after his term expires. He has elected to take a job Atlanta's Morehouse
College as head of the school's new National Center for Primary Care.
Members of the public health
community gave Satcher high marks for his term, saying that he worked
hard to highlight important issues that were backed by strong scientific
data. Most said he pursued the task even at the potential peril of his
relationship with the Bush White House.
Cooper or any other Surgeon
General choice will be subject to approval by the US Senate.
Reuters Washington January
15, 2002
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