India-born Devika Bhushan is California’s top doctor

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, February 3

India-born Devika Bhushan was on Thursday appointed California’s top doctor after incumbent surgeon generalNadine Burke Harris resigned on Wednesday, following three years in the role.

Bhushan, the newly-appointed California surgeon general, is Agra born.

She’s the daughter of Indu Bhushan, who set up and steered India’s flagship Ayushman Bharat Mission for annual cashless hospitalisation cover of Rs 5 lakh for over 10 crore vulnerable families.

Devika has written policy analyses on preventing gun violence, lead toxicity, and foster care legal implementation in the US.

She did her undergraduate degree from Columbia University, MD at Harvard Medical School and completed a general paediatrics residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Bloomberg Children’s Center.

The 35-year-old earlier served on Stanford’s faculty as a Clinical Instructor in the General Pediatrics division, where she taught pediatrics residents.

Currently, she is Chief Health Officer at the Office of the California Surgeon General—a post created three years ago in January, 2019.

As Chief Health Officer she implemented evidence-based approach to routine screening and response for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress across California. As a founding team member of the Office of the California Surgeon General (in 2019), Bhushan co-constructed its strategic vision and priorities.

She currently leads the research and clinical implementation portfolios relating to the Office’s top priorities—ACEs and toxic stress, health equity, and early childhood development.

She was Editor-in-Chief and lead author of the first California Surgeon General’s report, entitled Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon General’s Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress, and Health.

California is a handful of US states to have the post of a surgeon general. While the US surgeon general office dates back a century, the post of state-level surgeon general was first established in Pennsylvania (which named it physician general). This was 20 years ago in 1996.

In 2003, Michigan created a state-level surgeon general’s post. Arkansas and Florida followed in 2007 and California in 2019.