User:Brain1961

Dr. Rafael Rodríguez Mercado was appointed the 22nd Secretary of the Department of Health of Puerto Rico on January 12, 2017. He brings a wealth of experience to the Department as a Colonel in the United States Army, serving in the Medical Reserve, as a neurosurgeon supporting Walter Reed Medical Hospital and Brook Army Medical Center. At the present moment is the Command Surgeon of the 1st Mission Support Command USAR at Fort Buchanan, PR. He serves as Director for a renowned Endovascular Neurosurgery Program and is the former Chancellor of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. He has applied this experience to the current’s administration’s public health policy centered of three strategic pillars: A patient-centered health system, fair and accessible health services and an emphasis on primary care and prevention. Dr. Rodríguez Mercado was born in 1961 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He obtained a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Puerto Rico. As a student, he received the research and student leadership awards, as well as the recognition of the House of Representatives in 1988. He completed an internship in Straight General Surgery and his specialty in Neurosurgery after seven years of traineeship at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine. Then, he obtained a subspecialty in endovascular neurosurgery from the State University of New York at Buffalo. While practicing as a neurosurgeon, Dr. Rodriguez Mercado maintained a professorship at the University of School of Medicine, remained Director of the Endovascular Surgery Program of thisinstitution, continues to lead the same program at Puerto Rico Medical Services Administration (ASEM) Stroke Medical Center and, mentored future leaders in neuroendovascular surgery since 2001, as the Director of the Fellows Training Program in Neuroendovascular Surgery. He has completed over 4,000 endovaacular corrections in patients with intracranial congenital vascular malformations, being the largest world series of corrections with the lowest postoperative mortalities. He is a member of 15 prestigious international medical societies and has participated in multiple scientific research projects. He has made more than 140 oral presentations in Puerto Rico and in more than 20 countries such as South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. He has been a lecturer outside of Puerto Rico on 80 occasions. Is author and co-author of 25 scientific articles in prestigious journals, such as Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, Stroke, American Journal of Neuroradiology, and has written chapters of three health books. Dr. Rodriguez has been surrounded by excellence and achievements. His Endovascular Surgery program is recognized worldwide. He continued his clinical and academic work until January 2017, when he unanimously confirmed by the Senate after being appointed by Governor Ricardo Rossello Nevares as Secretary of Health of PR. His life’s work and dedication embodies the mission of the Department, to promote and preserve health as an essential condition in humans to enjoy from physical, emotional, and social wellness, and thus contribute to the society with their productive and creative effort.