Biography of the Acting Deputy Surgeon General

David Rutstein, M.D., M.P.H.

 RADM David Rutstein is the Acting Deputy Surgeon General, assisting the Surgeon General in articulating the best available scientific information to the public regarding ways to improve personal health and the health of the Nation. He also assists the Surgeon General in overseeing the operations of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps comprising approximately 6,600 uniformed health officers who serve in locations around the world to promote, protect, and advance the health and safety of the American People.

Dr. Rutstein has a BA in psychology from Hamilton College, in Clinton, NY; attended Morehouse School of Medicine; obtained his MD degree from Brown University Medical School; and earned his MPH degree from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He completed residency training in family medicine at the University of California - San Francisco’s Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, California and is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine.

After completing residency training, RADM Rutstein served for 13 years as a National Health Service Corps family physician in the Federated States of Micronesia, directing a wide array of clinical and public health initiatives. In 2000, he returned from Micronesia to assume the Chief Medical Officer position of the National Health Service Corps, and subsequently became the Deputy Associate Administrator for Health Professions in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), sharing responsibility for the development, distribution and retention of the health care workforce serving vulnerable populations. In early 2005 he became the Director of HRSA’s Office of International Health Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Administrator. After deploying in response to Hurricane Katrina, he was detailed to the White House Homeland Security Council’s Katrina Lessons Learned Review Group where he served as Director for Lessons Learned from the Federal response to hurricane Katrina. Following his service in the White House, he served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Disease prevention and Health Promotion in the Office of the Secretary, overseeing initiatives such as Healthy People 2010, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and HealthFinder®. Prior to his selection as Acting Deputy Surgeon General, RADM Rutstein completed a 4-year term as Chief Medical Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service and was the Director of the Surgeon General’s Office of Force Readiness and Deployment, responsible for the Commissioned Corps’ domestic and international readiness and response activities.

RADM Rutstein has received numerous awards and honors from within and outside the U.S. Public Health Service. Some include the PHS Distinguished Service Medal, the PHS Meritorious Service Medal, the Surgeon General’s Medallion, two Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medals, the PHS Outstanding Service Medal with Valor, two PHS Isolated Hardship Awards, two PHS Foreign Duty Awards, the PHS Hazardous Duty Award, an Honorary Medical Degree as well as a Distinguished Alumnus Award, both from Morehouse School of Medicine, and the Medal of Valor from AMA.

In addition to his administrative responsibilities, RADM Rutstein continues to serve as an instructor of Tropical Medicine/Public Health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences as well as an instructor of Advanced Trauma Life Support at the Defense Medical Readiness and Training Institute.