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 Delia Flores, remarried. Novello did not know her father. At birth, Novello was diagnosed with congenital megacolon, a condition that required Novello to spend two weeks every summer in the hospital. Although Novello was told at eight years old that she should have surgery to correct her problem, it would take another ten years before such an operation would happen. Nevertheless, Novello managed to excel in her study to become a doctor. Her experience with that disease, left such an impact on her that she vowed to become a doctor so that "no other person is going to wait 18 years for surgery."[3]
Education
At an early age, Novello's mother, a school teacher and later high school principal, stressed the importance of an education. Novello excelled in her education and graduated from high school at the age of 15.[4] She attended the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1965. She went on to the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in San Juan [4] where she received her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1970. That same year, she married Joseph R. Novello and they both moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where she continued her medical studies. Novello began a pediatric internship at University of Michigan Medical School. She became the first woman to receive the "University of Michigan Pediatrics Department Intern of the Year" award.[5] In 1973, Novello and her husband moved to Washington D.C. to begin her residency in pediatric nephrology at Georgetown University School of Medicine Hospital until 1976.[5] She earned her Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University in 1982 and her Doctorate in Public Health also from Johns Hopkins in 2000.
Career
Pediatric nephrologist
In 1976, Novello opened her own private practice in Springfield, Virginia, where she worked as a pediatrician. However, she soon realized that she lacked adequate emotional detachment for her work so she terminated her practice. Novello stated in an interview, "When the pediatrician cries as much as the parents do, then you know it's time to get out."[5]
Novello held various positions at NIH before being appointed to Assistant Surgeon General grade in the PHSCC[citation needed] and assignment as the deputy director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 1986. She also served as Coordinator for AIDS Research for NICHD from September 1987.[7] In this role, she developed a particular interest in pediatric AIDS, which caught the attention of the White House.[6]
Novello made major contributions to the drafting and enactment of the Organ Transplantation Procurement Act of 1984 while assigned to the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, working with the staff of committee chairman Orrin Hatch.[7]
Surgeon General
Novello was appointed Surgeon General by President George H. W. Bush, beginning her tenure on March 9, 1990, and was appointed to the temporary rank of vice admiral in the regular corps while the Surgeon General. She was the first woman and the first Hispanic to hold the position.
During her tenure as Surgeon General, Novello focused her attention on the health of women, children and minorities, as well as on underage drinking, smoking, and AIDS. She played an important role in launching the Healthy Children Ready to Learn Initiative.[6] She was actively involved in working with other organizations to promote immunization of children and childhood injury prevention efforts. She spoke out often and forcefully about illegal underage drinking, and called upon the United States Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General to issue a series of reports on the subject.
Novello also worked to discourage illegal tobacco use by young people, and repeatedly criticized the tobacco industry for appealing to the youth market through the use of cartoon characters such as Joe Camel.[7] A workshop that she convened led to the emergence of a National Hispanic/Latino Health Initiative.
Novello was controversial among abortion rights advocates due to her support of a policy prohibiting family planning program workers who received federal financing from discussing abortion with their patients.[8]
Novello left the post of Surgeon General on June 30, 1993, with the administration of President Bill Clinton praising her for her "vigor and talent."[8]
Later years
After leaving the position of Surgeon General, Novello remained in the regular corps of the Public Health Service. She was assigned to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as Special Representative for Health and Nutrition from 1993 to 1996 reverting to her permanent two-star rank of rear admiral. In 1996, she became visiting professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She retired from the Public Health Service and the PHSCC shortly after with the grade of vice admiral.
From 2008 to 2014, Novello was vice president of Women and Children Health and Policy Affairs at Disney Children's Hospital at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida.[9]
On June 26, 2009, in a plea deal with prosecutors, Novello pleaded guilty to one felony count of filing a false instrument involving a worker's duties.[10] Her guilty plea was accepted by the court on August 13, 2009.[11] She was sentenced to pay $22,500 in restitution, a $5,000 fine, and spend 250 hours doing community service at a medical clinic for uninsured patients. Outside the court immediately after the sentencing, her lawyer called the crime an "administrative processing offense – nothing else."[12] On March 31, 2022, by order of the Albany County Court, Judge Roger D. McDonough, the records were sealed.[13]
As of December 31, 2014, Novello retired from her position as an executive director of public health policy at Florida Hospital - Orlando.[14]
.svg)
