Canton resident Jonathan Woodson nominated for key position in Obama Administration

Jonathan Woodson, a noted doctor, soldier and teacher, has been nominated as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs by President Barack Obama. Woodson’s nomination awaits confirmation from the U.S. Senate.

Jonathan Woodson

A Canton resident for the last 15 years, Woodson is an associate professor of surgery and an associate dean at the Boston University School of Medicine. He is also a senior attending vascular surgeon at the Boston Medical Center.

A brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve, Woodson has previously been deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm, Kosovo, Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom, and Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City as a senior medical officer with the National Disaster Management System.

Woodson is currently the assistant surgeon general for reserve affairs, force structure and mobilization within the Office of the Surgeon General. He also serves as deputy commander of the Army Reserve Medical Command. In a joint statement sent to the Citizen, Karen Antman, provost of the BU Medical Campus and dean of the BU School of Medicine, and Kate Walsh, president and CEO of the Boston Medical Center, wrote: “Dr. Woodson is an excellent choice for this important role. His clinical and administrative experience and outstanding leadership will be of great value to our nation’s soldiers and veterans.

“His military experience makes him the perfect candidate for this position and he is well prepared to handle the challenges of this new position.”

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs is part of the U.S. Department of Defense. If confirmed, Woodson would advise Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on health issues within the department.

According to an article on the BU Today website, this position would put Woodson in charge of “the nation’s military health complex, responsible for issues ranging from treatment of soldiers wounded in war to the basic medical needs of almost 10 million active-duty and retired service personnel and their families.”   He would also “set health standards for military enlistments and deployments.”

The White House announced Woodson’s nomination, along with the nominations of Luis Arreaga as the Ambassador to Iceland and Rose Likins as the Ambassador to Peru, in a press release issued April 21.

“I am confident that these skilled and dedicated individuals will be tremendous assets to my administration as we continue the important work of the American people. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” President Obama said in the release.  Woodson has been honored for his military service, receiving the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. He was named one of the top vascular surgeons in Boston in 2007 and was listed as one of the top surgeons in the country in 2008.

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Posted by Jeffrey Pickette on May 13 2010. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.