FP Is Named Co-Chair of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Thomas Coburn, M.D., a family physician from Muskogee, Okla., and Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., Atlanta, were recently named co-chairs of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. In addition to the new co-chairs, Secretary Thompson named 23 other new members to serve on the council. Dr. Coburn worked extensively on the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001. Dr. Sullivan is currently the president of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, and served as HHS Secretary from 1989 to 1993. The 25 new members will join nine members currently serving terms on the council that provides President Bush and Secretary Thompson with recommendations regarding programs and policies intended to promote the highest quality of research, prevention, care, and treatment. The council was established in 1995, and its charter was renewed in 2001. Council members serve terms of up to four years and are selected based on their expertise in HIV/AIDS and their diverse personal and professional backgrounds.

CDC Report Shows Teenagers Are Still Exposed to Tobacco Advertisements

Results of a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, show that young persons are frequently exposed to high levels of promotional tobacco advertising in retail stores, despite restrictions imposed on such advertising. The study found that more than 90 percent of retail stores that sell tobacco products had some form of tobacco advertising, including interior and exterior advertisements, self-service pack placement, multi-pack discounts, and tobacco-branded functional objects (such as shopping carts, counter mats, or tobacco vending machines). Convenience stores, gasoline stations, and liquor stores were the most likely locations to have “tobacco-friendly” environments. Although tobacco control signs, such as “We Card” signs, were located in 65.8 percent of stores, only 4.1 percent had tobacco health warning signs. “This study shows that tobacco advertising in retail stores is much more visible to our youth than tobacco health warning information,” said Rosemarie Henson, head of the CDC's smoking and health program. The study also found that tobacco marketing expenditures increased from $6.7 billion in 1998 to $8.2 billion in 1999. For more information on the CDC's tobacco control activities, visit the CDC's Tobacco Information and Prevention Source Web site atwww.cdc.gov/tobacco.

Elizabeth M. James Duke Is Named Administrator of HRSA

Elizabeth M. James Duke, Ph.D., has been named administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). She has been acting administrator since March 2001. Before joining HRSA, Duke was deputy assistant secretary for administration in HHS' Administration for Children and Families from 1997 to 2001. From 1986 to 1997, she was principal deputy assistant secretary for management and budget at HHS. Ms. Duke also served as deputy assistant director and director of policy and systems at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Office of Training and Development from 1984 to 1986, and was director of the Government Affairs Institute in OPM's Office of Executive and Management Development from 1978 to 1984. She received a bachelor's degree in political science from Douglas College of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.; a master's degree in political science and African studies from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and a doctorate in political science from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

NHSC Will Award Nearly $90 Million in Scholarships and Loan Repayments

The National Health Services Corps (NHSC) will award a record $89.4 million in scholarship and loan repayments this year to physicians and other health care professionals who serve in rural and inner-city areas that lack adequate access to health care. These resources will support 900 new and continuing loan repayment awards and 400 new and continuing scholarship awards for physicians and other health care professionals who agree to provide health care services for a minimum of two to four years in areas of the country with the greatest shortage of medical professionals. For more information, visit the NHSC Web site atwww.bhpr.hrsa.gov/nhsc.

In Memoriam: John M. Eisenberg, M.D., M.B.A.

John M. Eisenberg, M.D., M.B.A., director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) from 1997 to 2002, died at age 55 on March 10 after a yearlong illness caused by a brain tumor. Dr. Eisenberg was a longtime friend of family medicine and shared many of the passions of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) concerning the reforming of the health care system to bring a focus on primary care. As president of the Society for General Internal Medicine, he worked with the AAFP on issues related to Medicare funding of graduate medical education. As a commissioner and chair of the Congressional Physician Payment Review Commission, he was supportive of changes in Medicare payments to physicians that recognized the value of primary care services. During his tenure as director of AHRQ, he worked to increase the capacity of primary care researchers and to increase funding for primary care research. Dr. Eisenberg was widely respected for his expertise and professionalism and will be deeply missed. “Throughout his career, John dedicated himself to ensuring that patients have the highest quality, safest health care possible,” HHS Sec. Tommy G. Thompson said. “Largely through his efforts, improving patient safety and health care quality are top national priorities,” he continued. Additional information about Dr. Eisenberg and his accomplishments are available atwww.ahrq.gov/news/jme/index.html.