Credit: U.S. HHS
Pennsylvania’s former health secretary made history on Tuesday.
Dr. Rachel Levine was sworn in as a four-star admiral for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
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Levine is the first-ever female four-star admiral in the government’s eight uniformed commissioned services, including the military. While serving as the head of Pennsylvania’s health department, she was the nation’s most senior openly transgender official.
“This is a momentous occasion and I am pleased to take this role for the impact I can make, and for the historic nature of what it symbolizes. May this appointment be the first of many like it as we create a more inclusive future,” said Levine, who is now the U.S. Health and Human Services assistant secretary for health.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra celebrated Levine’s appointment and noted her accomplished career as a pediatrician.
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President Joe Biden called Levine up to federal service when he took office earlier this year.
Levine served in Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration since 2015 and was approved by the Republican-controlled state senate to become health secretary in 2018. She led the state through the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Levine, who has two children, graduated from Harvard College and the Tulane University School of Medicine. She completed training in pediatrics and adolescent medicine at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Before becoming health secretary, Levine worked at Penn State Hershey Medical Center dealing with adolescent medicine and eating disorders.
Levine faced criticism last year for pulling her elderly mother from a personal care home as COVID-19 ravaged long-term care centers. Levine noted it was her mother’s choice and personal care homes are not overseen by her agency and are different from long-term care centers.
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