U.S . Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced late Wednesday that she will step down next month after four years in the post . Benjamin , a longtime advocate for a health care model centered on wellness and preventive treatment , announced her decision in an e-mail to staff , thanking them for supporting her vision . `` My goal was to create a grassroots movement , to change our health care system from one focused on sickness and disease to a system focused on wellness and prevention . With your help , that movement has begun , '' Benjamin wrote . In an e-mail to staff , U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said Benjamin should be `` proud of her many achievements . '' `` Regina has served as America 's doctor since 2009 and has impacted the health and lives of Americans across the country . I am deeply grateful for her leadership and service , '' Sebelius wrote . `` The Surgeon General 's road to prevention has touched the lives of millions of Americans and has had a positive impact on the health of this Nation . '' As surgeon general , Benjamin chaired the National Prevention , Health Promotion , and Public Health Council , which was created under the Affordable Care Act to develop a strategy to improve access to care . `` Regina has been passionate about changing our health care system from one focused on sickness and disease to a system focused on wellness and prevention , '' Sebelius said . Prior to her nomination , Benjamin served as CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama , which she founded in 1990 . The Alabama native was also the first African-American woman board member of the American Medical Association , and served a term as chairwoman of the group 's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs . Deputy Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak will serve as interim surgeon general until a permanent pick is nominated .
Sebelius says Benjamin should be proud of her achievements . Before her nomination , she served as CEO of an Alabama health clinic . She has been in the post for four years .