doi:10.7916/4q0x-jz76Oral history interview with Regina M. Benjamin, 2022Benjamin, Reginaoral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesPublic health--United StatesMedical care--Government policy--United StatesYouth--Tobacco use--United StatesObesity--United StatesBreastfeeding--United StatesSuicide--Prevention--United StatesBP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010Benjamin, ReginaObama, BarackNational Prevention Council (U.S.)United StatesUnited States. Public Health ServicePatient Protection and Affordable Care ActRegina Benjamin reflects on her career in public health and discusses her work in the Obama administration, in which she served as surgeon general of the United States from 2009 to 2013. She recounts her upbringing and development as a family doctor, and describes the operation and resilience of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic, which she founded in 1990 in southern Alabama. Benjamin focuses on her efforts to center prevention in national healthcare policy, and she provides details about the structure and work of the National Prevention Council, which was created by the Affordable Care Act; outreach and public information campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles and discourage tobacco use by youth and young adults; and the development, composition, and uses of surgeon general's reports on major public health issues including obesity, breastfeeding, tobacco use, and suicide prevention. Benjamin also describes the relationships between the Office of the Surgeon General, federal agencies and scientific institutions, and the East Wing of the Obama White House, and she outlines the role of the United States Public Health Service in disaster response efforts. Also discussed are Benjamin's role in the administration's response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the role of outside advocacy organizations in the development of surgeon general's reports, the relationship of the Office of the Surgeon General to legislative processes, and Benjamin's experiences in professional medical organizations