FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Dr. Regina Benjamin, a Spanish Fort resident and 1975 Fairhope High School graduate, was picked Monday morning to be the country’s top doc. Speaking after President Barack Obama made the announcement in the White House Rose Garden, Benjamin said, “I am honored and I am humbled to be nominated to serve as United States Surgeon General. This is a physician’s dream. But for me, it’s more than just a job.”

Benjamin considers it a very personal calling because her father died after suffering from diabetes and hypertension, and her only sibling, an older brother, died at age 44 of HIV-related illness.

Benjamin’s mother died of lung cancer, she added, because as a young girl she wanted to smoke just like her twin brother did. That uncle, one of the few surviving black World War II prisoners of war, is currently on oxygen, struggling for each breath.

“My family is not here with me today, at least not in person, because of preventable diseases,” she said. “While I can’t — or I cannot change my family’s past, I can be a voice in the movement to improve our nation’s health care and our nation’s health for the future.”

Obama said that upon Senate confirmation, the 52-year-old Mobile native will play an important role in implementing his health care agenda.

“We are now closer to the goal of health care reform than we have ever been,” the president said. ”Over the last several weeks, key committees in the House and the Senate have made important and unprecedented progress on a plan that will lower costs, provide better care for patients and curb the worst practices of the insurance companies. It’s a plan that will not add to our deficit over the next decade … and eventually will help lower our deficit by slowing the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.”

Obama acknowledged that passing the package won’t be easy, because many Americans are wary of the program. He said, “I understand people are a little nervous and a little scared about making change. The muscles in this town to bring about big changes are a little atrophied, but we’re whipping folks back into shape. We are going to get this done. And if there’s anyone who understands the urgency of meeting this challenge in a personal and powerful way, it’s the woman who will become our nation’s next surgeon general.”

The president said Benjamin is an “outstanding candidate to be America’s leading spokesperson on issues of public health” because of her qualifications.

Benjamin was in the second class at Morehouse School of Medicine and went on to earn her doctorate in medicine from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Tulane University.

She served as an associate professor of family medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine before becoming assistant then associate dean for rural health there. She stepped down from that position on Sept. 30, 2004, and currently serves as an adjunct professor in the USA Department of Family Medicine.

Dr. Ronald D. Franks, USA vice president for health sciences, said, “Dr. Benjamin has clearly demonstrated her passion for improving the health of citizens in our area, especially in medically underserved populations. As a former associate dean at our medical school and an advocate for health care in our state, I feel certain that her dedication, passion and experiences in Alabama will serve her well as she prepares to lead the national effort to improve the health of the United States.”

Benjamin has achieved much in her lifetime.

In 1995 she became the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be named to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. Twelve years later, she became president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.

Benjamin is perhaps best known, however, as the founder in 1990 of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic. She returned home and established the clinic as part of her obligation to the National Health Service Corps, which funded her medical school education. The program provides underserved communities in America with qualified clinicians.

She was awarded a 2008 MacArthur Fellowship in September, often referred to as the “genius award.” The honor from the John D. and Catherine T, MacArthur Foundation is granted to individuals who “show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future. The fellowship is designed to provide recipients with the flexibility to pursue their creative activities in the absence of specific obligations or reporting requirements.”

There are no limits on age or area of activity, according to the foundation Web site. The honor comes with a $500,000 stipend, paid in quarterly installments over five years. Benjamin noted at the time she will use the money to continue helping fulfill her medical mission.

Keeping the clinic open in the city of around 2,500 has been a challenge for Benjamin. Hurricane Georges destroyed it in 1998, and she made house calls until it was rebuilt. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 devastated the town, wiping out the clinic again and leaving most of the residents there homeless.

When the clinic was about to open after being rebuilt for the third time, stray fireworks burned it to the ground in January 2006. With help from her community, she began rebuilding it again. One disabled patient brought her an envelope with $20 inside. Another elderly man said, “Maybe I can help. I got a hammer.”

She said, “As a physician, my priority has always been the needs of my patients. I decided I would treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. However, it’s not been a easy road. As has been explained, hurricanes destroyed my office and devastated our community. And for years I’ve worked to find resources to sustain a doctor’s office that treats patients without health insurance or the ability to pay out of their pockets.

“It should not be this hard for doctors and other health care providers to care for their patients. It shouldn’t be this expensive for Americans to get health care in this country.”

Benjamin told the president that Bayou La Batre is a shrimping town, where many work for themselves, and are usually unable to afford health insurance.

Obama noted, “When people couldn’t pay, she didn’t charge them. When the clinic wasn’t making money, she didn’t take a salary for herself. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed it again … she mortgaged her house and maxed out her credit cards to rebuild that clinic for a second time. She tended to those who had been wounded in the storm, and when folks needed medicine, she asked the pharmacist to send the bill her way.”

Benjamin said if she is confirmed as surgeon general, she will communicate directly with Americans in order to help guide them through whatever changes the president’s health care reform package brings. She added, “I want to ensure that no one — no one — falls through the cracks as we improve our health care system. I will also work to shine a light on the inspiring work of the 6,200 members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. These men and women serve on the front lines in the nation’s fight against disease and poor health conditions.”

Benjamin thanked the president for his vote of confidence, along with two of her medical school professors, Dr. David Satcher, who once served as surgeon general, and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Louis Sullivan.