FMCSA names first chief medical officer
Dr. Benisse Lester joins the agency from the Department of Homeland Security where she was Director of Occupational Medicine and Safety.
The Trucker News Services
12/2/2009
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has hired its first chief medical officer.
Dr. Benisse Lester joins the agency from the Department of Homeland Security where she was Director of Occupational Medicine and Safety.
The chief medical officer position was authorized by Congress when it passed and President George Bush signed into law the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005.
According to the job description posted on usajobs.gov, the purpose of the position is to serve as FMCSA’s chief medical officer with responsibility to provide senior level advice and consultation to the FMCSA administrator, associate administrator for program and policy development, the director of medical programs, FMCSA senior management, the FMCSA’s Medical Review Board, Congressional members and staff, senior executives of other federal agencies, national and international scientific and medical groups and the public on FMCSA’s national medical certification/qualification regulations, standards and policies, the National Registry Program, medical exemption and certification programs and the development of medical standards and guidance and the relevant proceedings and research to support the medical program.
It is a career position within the agency.
The FMCSA is currently dealing with several rulemakings involving medical issues.
Among them are an effort to amend FMCSA’s medical qualifications standards to allow drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus to drive without seeking an exemption, the development of a national registry of certified medical examiners and the development of a data base for driver positive controlled substances and alcohol test results.
In addition, there is much discussion among industry stakeholders about sleep apnea and truckers with or without that condition driving while fatigued.
The new chief medical officer also likely will have significant input into the development of the next Hours of Service rules with respect to efforts to ensure drivers have enough time off to get proper rest.
Lester began her service with DHS as Chief of Medical Programs for the Federal Air Marshal Service. Preceding her tenure at DHS, she was attending surgeon in orthopedic surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she held a faculty appointment as Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopedic Surgery. In 2001, she was appointed as an Honorary Police Surgeon by the New York Police Department.
Lester received her doctor of medicine degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed a general surgery internship and orthopedic surgery residency at the New York University Medical Center.
She is a senior aviation medical examiner, a medical review officer, and is board certified in orthopedic surgery with a certificate of added qualification in hand surgery.
Dorothy Cox of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at dlcox@thetrucker.com.
Follow The Trucker on Twitter at www.twitter.com/truckertalk.