Former Sen. Frist To Work As Global Health Care Advocate During Post-Political Career
August 17, 2007 – 1:25 pm | posted in Public HealthFormer Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a surgeon by training, is seeking to become a leader on global poverty and health issues, modeling his efforts after those of former Vice President Al Gore for the environment, the AP/Tennessean reports. In an interview with the Associated Press, Frist said, “Al Gore has demonstrated what somebody who has a background in politics can accomplish when they are outside of politics,” adding, “He has accomplished 99.9% more than he could when he was in politics.”
Since leaving the Senate earlier this year after reaching a self-imposed term limit, Frist has served as co-chair of a group encouraging grass-roots efforts to urge presidential candidates to focus on global poverty and health issues, and he is spearheading an effort by Save the Children to combat infant mortality around the world. Additionally, Frist is writing a book on public service and is preparing to teach health care policy courses at Princeton University.
Though he is considered a possible candidate for the Tennessee gubernatorial race in 2010, Frist said he has not given that option much thought and will evaluate the impact of his health care advocacy work after a couple of years before making decisions about his political future. Until then, he said he will work to improve U.S. diplomatic relations throughout the world through his focus on health policy (Schelzig, AP/Tennessean, 8/13).
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