Memorial Day Ceremony 2013, Washington, DC
Keynote Speaker
|
|
Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., Rear Admiral, USPHS (Retired) |
Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu is Vice President for Global Professional Education and Strategic Relations for Johnson & Johnson’s Family of Diabetes Companies, as well as WorldWide Chairman of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institutes, a global initiative to provide awareness and training in state-of-the-art science, information, and technology relevant to diabetes prevention, awareness, diagnosis, and treatment.
Rear Admiral Kenneth Moritsugu was the Acting Surgeon General of the United States, in 2002 and again from July 2006 until his retirement from the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service in September 2007. As Acting Surgeon General, he served as the nation’s top doctor, communicating the best available science and information to the American people to help protect, promote, and advance their health and safety. He was also the operational commander of the 6,500 Commissioned Corps health personnel of the U.S. Public Health Service.
As of October 1, 1998, he served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the United States. A career officer in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service for 37 years, Admiral Moritsugu held the position of Assistant Surgeon General since 1988, beginning with the tenure of Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.
Dr. Moritsugu was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. After attending Chaminade College for two years, he received his Baccalaureate Degree with Honors in Classical Languages from the University of Hawaii in 1967, a Medical Doctor degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine in 1971, and a Master of Public Health in Health Administration and Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1975.
Dr. Moritsugu is Board Certified in Preventive Medicine; holds Fellowships in the American College of Preventive Medicine, the Royal Society of Public Health, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the National Academy of Public Administration; and is a Certified Correctional Health Professional.
Over his public career, RADM Moritsugu served in many diverse assignments in uniform, including Staff Medical Officer at the USPHS Hospital Outpatient Department in San Francisco; Medical Officer on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Taney (Ocean Station Bravo); Director of the National Health Service Corps; and Assistant Bureau Director and the Medical Director of the U.S. Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons, in addition to Deputy Surgeon General.
Admiral Moritsugu has received numerous honors and awards, including the Surgeon General's Medallion with two gold stars, twelve honorary degrees, and Distinguished Service Medals from the USPHS, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
Also an educator, Dr. Moritsugu is an Adjunct Professor of Global Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
Dr. Moritsugu has been a leader in the physician assistant profession since his tenure as Director of the Division of Medicine of the DHHS. He was appointed a Lifetime Member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and of the Veterans Caucus of the AAPA. After several terms on the board of the Physician Assistant Foundation, he received the distinction of Emeritus Trustee.
Dr. Moritsugu lost his wife, Donna Lee Jones Moritsugu, in an automobile accident in 1992, and his daughter Vikki Lianne in a separate automobile accident in 1996. Both were organ and tissue donors. Dr. Moritsugu resides in Great Falls, VA with his wife, Lisa R. Kory. He has two daughters, Erika Lizabeth Moritsugu, an attorney in Washington, DC; and Emily Renee Moritsugu.
.
Updated January 2013
