Practice, Progress, and Promise of a state Surgeon General: The Arkansas Experience

In 2005, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R), in a merger of the Departments of Health and Human Services, formed a position of Chief Health Officer to serve as a public advocate for health. In 2007, Governor Mike Beebe (D) requested a legislative demerger of the departments through which the position was modified in name to Surgeon General and in function to explicitly serve as the cabinet level health advisor to the governor developing strategy for health policy alongside the cabinet level directors of the Departments of Health and Human Services. With legislative sanction, the position has evolved to enable strategic planning, support policy development, and provide trusted leadership for the executive branch with both the legislature and public. Serving originally as the Chief Health Officer and now as the Surgeon General, Joe Thompson, MD MPH has led state policy initiatives with successes in tobacco control, childhood obesity prevention, and expanded health insurance coverage. Currently based in an academic health policy center, the Arkansas Surgeon General draws upon the resources of the university and has become a catalyst using empirical information to advance the health agenda of the state. As a model for other states, the organization, function, and operational experience of the office may provide opportunities to advance public health.