Obama's Surgeon General Pick Says U.S. Cannot Continue on Current Healthcare Path

She became the only physician in Bayou La Batre, a town where about 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. Many times, she often treated patients for free or asked them to pay when they can.

The clinic was severely damaged by two hurricanes—Hurricane George in 1998 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Before it was scheduled to reopen in 2006 after repairs, the clinic was destroyed by fire. However, she continued to treat patients at their homes and in area hospitals.

Benjamin, though, has had personal successes. In 1995, she became the first black woman elected to the American Medical Association's Board of Trustees; in 2002, she became the president of the Alabama Medical Association, making her the first African American woman to be president of a state medical society in the U.S.

Last year, Benjamin was one of 25 recipients of the MacArthur Foundation's "Genius" grant, which rewards people who have demonstrated "extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits."

"For all that she's seen and all the tremendous obstacles that she has overcome, Regina Benjamin also represents what's best about healthcare in America—doctors and nurses who give and care and sacrifice for the sake of their patients," Obama said yesterday in announcing her nomination.