Antonia Novello Interesting Facts
Born in 1944, on the 23rd of August, in Puerto Rico, Antonia Novello is a world-renowned physician and public official. She carried out major public health campaigns in order to improve health conditions as well as access to medical care mainly for children, women, and minority populations. Today she is a well-known individual who is provided with much respect. So here are some interesting facts about Antonia Novello.
1. Antonia was the first Hispanic and first female U.S surgeon general
When Novello was working on pediatric AIDS, President George H.W Bush started noticing her for her expertise and appointed her as the 14th surgeon general, the United States’ top health official. She was the first female and Hispanic to serve as the U.S surgeon general.
2. Her father passed away when she was young
Antonia Novello was the eldest of 3 children. When she was young, her father Antonio Coello, passed away leaving just her mother, Antonia, and her two younger siblings.
3. Antonia’s mother was her role model
After the death of her father, Antonia’s mother, Ana Delia Flores Coello started to work as a school teacher and later on became the principal. Her mother always placed high importance on education, respect, hard work, and care for others. Antonia grew up learning these values from her mother which she, later on, put into practice during her adult life which bought her much fame.
4. Antonia suffered from a painful disease
When Antonia was young, she suffered from a condition known as congenital megacolon. This was an abnormality in her large intestine that limited her activities and her energy levels. Her mother could not afford surgery so instead, she got interim treatment in a local hospital. But finally, after she was 18 years old she managed to receive surgery that helped to cure her.
5. Antonia’s medical condition is what inspired her to become a doctor
The medical condition that Antonia faced when she was young left her determined to become a doctor. And here she made her main goal to help sick children mainly the ones who could not afford or didn’t have access to proper medical care.
6. Her aunt’s kidney failure is what inspired her to study pediatric nephrology
When Antonia was in medical school her aunt passed away from kidney failure. This further inspired her to study more about kidney diseases and the process of kidney transplants. Later on, she specialized in pediatric nephrology (the study of the kidneys).
7. Despite much practice, Antonia found treating children challenging
Antonia spent 2 years in private practice and even though she was passionate about that area, she found treating critically ill children very emotionally challenging. So she decided to work in the public health field where she worked to improve the health of the general public.
8. Antonia had to conduct community service after she was accused of abuse of power
Antonia’s staffers had complained stating that she abused her power by requesting state employees to serve as her chauffeur and asking to run her errands. She was charged with defrauding the government but she reached a plea agreement where she had to conduct community service and pay fines along with restitution to the government.
9. Antonia was one person who helped with the Organ Transplantation Procurement Act
Antonia made massive contributions to the enactment and the drafting of the Organ Transplantation Procurement Act of 1984 when she was assigned to the U.S Senate Committee on Labour and Human Resources, working with Orrin Hatch, the staff committee chairman.
10. During COVID-19 she administered vaccines
During the Pandemic, Antonia administered COVID-19 vaccines to people in San Juan and widely requested people to wear masks, and get vaccinated to help prevent the spreading of the virus. She even took part in meetings at the white house to discuss the expansion of access to vaccines and information in communities of color.
Overall, Antonia Novello is a great figure who is of much inspiration to the younger generation. Starting from humble beginnings, Antonia is a person who refused to give up despite the hardships she faced in her life. Thus to this day, she is a well-recognized and highly respected individual for the service she does to society.
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