Dr. Bernadine Healy Named President of American Red Cross
Contact: Michael Fulwider of the American Red Cross, 703-248-4212 or pager: 800-759-8888, PIN No. 1197912 Internet: http://www.redcross.org
WASHINGTON, July 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Red Cross, the nation's premier humanitarian organization, today named Dr. Bernadine P. Healy as its president and chief executive officer.
Dr. Healy is a nationally known leader in the health field and has dedicated her life to serving others. She is nationally regarded as an expert on medical issues and has held high-level positions in two presidential administrations. Dr. Healy, 54, is dean of the Ohio State University College of Medicine. She has held that position for four years. "We conducted a thorough search to find the right person to lead the American Red Cross into the next century," said Norman Augustine, chairman of the American Red Cross Board of Governors. "Bernadine Healy is a dynamic individual, who brings passion, intelligence, skill and dedication to every challenge. This is exactly the kind of person the Red Cross needs as its president," Augustine continued. Bernadine Healy will become the first medical doctor to lead the American Red Cross, succeeding Elizabeth Dole as president. Augustine added, "Bernadine Healy has been a pioneer much of her life. She has served in a leadership role at many prestigious medical and educational institutions, including an eight-year tenure as a professor at Johns Hopkins University. She was the first female director of the National Institutes of Health, a position she held from 1991 to 1993. Dr. Healy was the first woman to be named a science advisor to the White House. She served there as deputy senior advisor and deputy director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy from 1984 to 1985. Dr. Healy assumed the position of dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health and professor of medicine at Ohio State University in 1995. She was also the first woman to hold this post."
On assuming her new position as head of the American Red Cross, Dr. Healy said, "I am very honored. The Red Cross is at the forefront of human services. It is exciting to be joining an organization of more than 1.3 million volunteers dedicated to helping people in need."
Dr. Healy added, "As a doctor and researcher, I have dedicated my life to alleviating human suffering. I have long admired the Red Cross. It is far more than an organization. It is an international movement that is committed to humanitarian ideals. I intend to do everything within my power to help the Red Cross grow and continue to serve as the world's premier humanitarian organization."
Steve Bullock, chief executive officer of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross, served as acting president during the transition from Mrs. Dole to Dr. Healy. While her official start date is September 1, 1999, she intends to begin many of her duties immediately.
The American Red Cross is dedicated to helping make families and communities safer at home and around the world. A volunteer-led humanitarian service organization, the American Red Cross annually provides almost half the nation's blood supply, trains more than 11.7 million people in vital lifesaving skills, mobilizes relief to victims in more than 60,000 disasters nationwide, provides direct health services to 2.5 million people, assists international disaster and conflict victims in more than 20 countries, and transmits more than 1.4 million emergency messages to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
-0- /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ 07/08 12:23
Copyright 1999, U.S. Newswire
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