Erica Schwartz | |
|---|---|
 Schwartz as Deputy Surgeon General | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch | United States Navy PHS Commissioned Corps |
| Service years | 1994–2005 (Navy) 2005–2021 (Public Health Service) |
| Rank |  Rear Admiral |
| Commands | Deputy Surgeon General of the United States Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Coast Guard |
| Awards | Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Meritorious Service Medal (2) Surgeon General Medallion Coast Guard Commendation Medal Navy Commendation Medal Public Health Service Presidential Unit Citation |
| Alma mater | Brown University (BS,MD) Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (MPH) University of Maryland (JD) |
| Spouse | Dr. Daniel Schwartz |
Erica G. Schwartz is a retiredU.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corpsrear admiral who last served as the deputysurgeon general of the United States from January 2019 to April 2021. As aCommissioned Corps officer, she served with theU.S. Coast Guard as their Chief of Health Services and Chief of Preventive Medicine at theU.S. Coast Guard headquarters and became its principal expert on flu pandemics. Prior to becoming Deputy Surgeon General, she served as the Coast Guard's Chief Medical Officer from 2015 to 2019. She retired in April 2021 after over 27 years of combined uniformed service.
Schwartz graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering fromBrown University in 1994 and was awarded a doctorate in medicine from the same institution in 1998. She later attended theUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and was awarded a master's degree in public health in 2000 and completed an occupational and environmental medicine residency in 2001. Schwartz also has aJuris Doctor from theUniversity of Maryland and has been admitted to theDistrict of Columbia Bar.[1]
Schwartz served in theUnited States Navy inAnnapolis, Maryland andPortsmouth, Virginia until 2005 when she joined theU.S. Public Health Service and transferred from the Navy to theU.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.[2] Early in her career, as aNavy officer, she served as anoccupational medicine physician with postings that included chief of the occupational medicine, immunization and preventative medicine departments of theAnnapolis, Maryland Naval Medical Clinic. Schwartz also served at the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center inPortsmouth, Virginia.[1]
Schwartz served as Chief of Health Services and Chief of Preventive Medicine at theU.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. where she implemented disease surveillance, vaccination, screening and NBC countermeasure programs. She wrote the service's first ever pandemic influenza, anthrax and smallpox vaccination, quarantinable communicable disease, periodic health assessment and HIV policies. Schwartz also worked to develop health protection guidance for armed forces deployments followingHurricane Katrina,Hurricane Rita, the2009 flu pandemic, the2010 Haiti earthquake, theDeepwater Horizon disaster and theWest Africa Ebola outbreak.[1] She was appointed as the Coast Guard's principal expert on flu pandemics.[1] Schwartz has been awarded one Legion of Merit, twoMeritorious Service Medals, both theCoast Guard and Navy Commendation Medals and, in 2011, was recognised as one of theMilitary Health System female physicians of the year.[1]
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Schwartz was appointed to the rank ofrear admiral in the commissioned corps along with her appointment as the U.S. Coast Guard's Chief Medical Officer on 17 August 2015.[2][1] As chief, she concurrently served as the Coast Guard's Director of Health, Safety and Work-Life and had responsibility for managing the service's 42 clinics and 150 sick bays. She oversaw the Coast Guard's environmental health and safety program, focusing on risk management and accident prevention. She also led the service's work-life programs including: child care, culinary services, substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention, personal financial management, ombudsman, health promotion, and employee assistance.[1]
In January 2018, Rear Admiral Schwartz testified before theU.S. House Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on the need for the service to transition to an electronic health record system, in line with the other services of theU.S. Armed Forces. She stated that the current paper-based record and prescription system did not allow efficient transfer of records from the Coast Guard to theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.[3]
Schwartz was selected for appointment as the Deputy Surgeon General of the United States on 1 January 2019. She choose to retire from the Commissioned Corps after being passed over by theBiden administration to become the actingsurgeon general.[4][5]
Schwartz was elected to serve on the board of directors of Aveanna Healthcare, a Georgia-based home care provider, on 13 May 2021.[6] Schwartz was selected to serve on the board of directors of the Butterfly Network, a medical imaging company, on 9 September 2021.[7]
Media related toErica G. Schwartz at Wikimedia Commons