Dr. Adams serves as state health commissioner, a role he started in 2014 under then-Governor Mike Pence. As state health commissioner, Dr. Adams’ support for needle exchanges is credited with helping stop an HIV outbreak in rural Scott County, according to a profile in The New York Times. As an anesthesiologist, Dr. Adams has also voiced concern about the risks of opioids, making him a fit for surgeon general amid the current opioid crisis, according to the report. If appointed, Dr. Adams will be the second health official from Indiana in the White House — President Trump also tapped Seema Verma, a health policy consultant and architect of Indiana’s Medicaid expansion, for CMS administrator.
Dr. Adams previously served as staff anesthesiologist and an assistant professor of anesthesia at Indianapolis-based Indiana University School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree. Dr. Adams also earned a master’s degree of public health from University of California, Berkeley.
If confirmed, Dr. Adams will serve a 4-year term and will replace Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, who was appointed acting surgeon general after the removal of Vivek Murthy, MD, the surgeon general appointed by former President Barack Obama.
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