Diplomat adds former Surgeon General to board

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Pharmacy has added a former Surgeon General to its board of directors. Dr. Regina Benjamin, who served as Surgeon General from 2009-2013 under Pres. Barack Obama, has been appointed to the board effective immediately and will stand for election at the company’s 2017 annual meeting.

“Dr. Regina Benjamin is a pioneer in the medical field, and we are excited to welcome her to Diplomat’s board of directors,” Diplomat CEO and chairman Phil Hagerman said. “We believe her commitment to making a difference to one patient at a time embodies Diplomat’s patient-first approach. Further, her focus on overall wellness initiatives and population health supports Diplomat’s broader health care mission as we continue to grow.”

During her time as Surgeon General, Benjamin oversaw operational command of 6,500 uniformed public health officers, and as chair of the National Prevention Council, which included 17 cabinet-level agencies, released the first National Prevention Strategy. She also serves as a member of the board of directors for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan

Benjamin was the first physician younger than 40 and the first African-American woman elected to the American Medical Association’s board of trustees in 1995, and in 2002 became the first African-American female president of a state medical society when she took the helm of the Medical Association State of Alabama.

“I admire Diplomat’s focus on bringing personalized medication therapies to people with specialized needs through a high-touch service model, and I’m honored to be joining its board,” Benjamin said. “I have devoted my career to ensuring Americans receive the best possible health care, regardless of their financial situation, and find this mission echoed in the very fabric of Diplomat’s business culture and leadership. I look forward to building on this foundation with my fellow board members to make a difference in one person at a time.”