Military Branch, Rank, and Unit:
Major, USAF (Ret.)

Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida

Personal Profile:
I was active in the first Gulf War, stationed in Germany at Wiesbaden Hospital where we doubled OR and in-patient capacity in about three days in anticipation of receiving casualties, while still providing full OB/GYN care to our own patients.  Many of these were either spouses of deployed soldiers or were themselves active duty; some deployed within weeks of giving birth. 

I was also deployed to Florida in 1980 during the Cuban refugee crisis following the Mariel Boatlift, where we provided primary care, treating many skin conditions due to exposure or infection, including leprosy. 

After retiring from the Air Force, I worked as a Locum Tenens, practicing midwifery in the U.S. Virgin Islands; in Phoenix, Arizona with urban Native American women; in Molokai, Hawaii which is about 96% Hawaiian Native; in Oahu, Hawaii at Tripler Army Hospital; and finally in Alaska at the Alaska Native Medical Center which exclusively serves Native Alaskans, most of whom have come to Anchorage from the "bush," the outlying villages that practice subsistence living, and may have no medical professionals other than Village Health Aids. 

My unique Air Force experiences made me comfortable in all these varied assignments, all of which I have loved.



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