Author Topic: Filipino-American appointed as Rear-Admiral of United States Navy  (Read 1162 times)

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Dr. Eleanor Concepcion "Connie" Mariano is a woman of many firsts.


Dr. Eleanor Concepcion, Rear Admiral of United States Navy


She is the first Filipino-American to reach the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, the first graduate of the Uniformed Services University of Medicine to reach flag officer status, the first woman to be appointed White House Physician, and the first woman and the first Filipino-American to be the director of the White House Medical Unit.

Mariano got an early start in the navy — she was born at Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite City, Philippines, in 1955. She's also the daughter of a navy man himself, U.S. Master Chief Angel Mariano. And she had a lifelong role model for the medical profession thanks to her mother, Lourdes Jingco, who is a dentist.

The family moved to Hawaii when Mariano was two years old, and continued to move frequently during her father's navy career. Mariano kept right on moving when it came to her education, too. She earned valedictorian honors upon graduation from Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, California, in 1973. She received her bachelor's degree in biology from Revelle College at the University of California, San Diego, where she graduated cum laude. Mariano joined the navy in 1977, and she received her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1981 Bethesda. Graduation came with a commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.

Mariano became board-certified in Internal Medicine, served as Medical Department Head aboard a destroyer tender in the Pacific and in two naval hospitals in California, including a stint as Division Head of General Internal Medicine. In June 1992, Dr. Mariano became the White House Physician, and in 1994 was named Director of the White House Medical Unit. She eventually served as the White House Physician to three sitting presidents — H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

For close to a decade, the personal health and well-being of the most powerful man in the world rested in the hands of Dr. Mariano. They relied on Connie for advice and treatment at anytime, anywhere in the world.

Mariano described what it was like to be the President's Personal Physician in an interview with CNN.

"You essentially shadow the president," she said. "The medical unit really exists to take care of the president in those scenarios where his life is in danger. The president's life is always in danger, unfortunately, in this day and age. The role of White House Physician is to be close enough to him so that if he needs to be resuscitated, you are there with him as a first responder."

For more than 100 years prior to her being assigned to the White House Medical Unit, the team essentially went home in the evening. Mariano told CNN that "there was no medical care at night and that bothered me, because if the president had a heart attack or fell down and needed care you would have to call someone to come into the house. That had been done for about a hundred years before, but we were entering a new era, when you really needed 24-hour on-site assistance. As a result we said, 'listen, from now on, from this day forth, you will have 24-hour coverage.'"

In 2001, after 24 years of service, Dr. Mariano retired from the Navy and left the White House with the rank of Rear Admiral. She worked as a consultant in the Executive Health Program at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, from July 2001 to October 2005. She went on to found the Center for Executive Medicine in Scottsdale, a concierge medical practice which provides premium-level care and access exclusively to patients enrolled as members.

Mariano is a frequent speaker on the topics of care to VIPs, presidential disability, travel medicine, and optimizing quality of care.

When asked whether she would recommend the Navy as a career option, Mariano says: "Opportunities are available now more than ever in the U.S. Navy for any woman,especially one of Asian Pacific heritage, who seeks purpose, opportunity and service to country."

Mariano adds that education provided her the ability to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the U.S. Navy.

"I have been blessed throughout my life with numerous opportunities to learn. Education has always been the cornerstone of my survival and achievement."

Mariano is married to attorney Richard Stevens, and they have two sons, Jason and Andrew.

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