James W. Holsinger Biography | James Wilson Holsinger Jr.

James Wilson Holsinger Jr., (born May 11, 1939) is an American physician. A former major general in the U.S. Army Reserve (1962 to 1993), he has worked primarily in public health for over thirty years. He served as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health from 1990 to 1993, during the administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

From 1994 to 2003, Holsinger was the Chancellor of the University of Kentucky’s Chandler Medical Center. From 2003 to 2005 he served as Kentucky’s Secretary of Health and Family Services.

On May 24, 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Holsinger to become the Surgeon General of the United States. Holsinger’s nomination became controversial and was never voted on by the Senate due to, according to his critics, the anti-gay bias in his work in the United Methodist Church where he voted to expel a lesbian pastor and for a 1991 report where he characterized gay sex as unnatural and unhealthy.

In January 2009, instead, Bush appointed Holsinger to fill a vacant unpaid position on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports to expire May 2010.

Holsinger obtained his medical degree in 1964 and a Ph.D. in anatomy in 1968, both from Duke University. As of 2009, he is a professor at the University of Kentucky.

Holsinger is a leader in the United Methodist Church, serving as treasurer of the World Methodist Council and was previously President of the Judicial Council.

Table of Contents

James W. Holsinger Age

Early life And Education

Holsinger was born in Kansas City, Kansas, to James W. Holsinger Sr. (1906–1994), an Army brigadier general, and Ruth Reitz Holsinger (b. 1909).

Holsinger graduated from Duke University with an M.D. in 1964 and a Ph.D. in anatomy in 1968. He holds a degree from the University of Kentucky in human studies.

Additionally, he holds master’s degrees in hospital financial management from the University of South Carolina, as well as biblical studies from the Asbury Theological Seminary. Read also about Alfred W. Gwinn

He served as a surgical resident at Duke University Medical Center and Shands Teaching Hospital where he was also a fellow in Cardiology. Holsinger has published four medical books and sixty-one peer-reviewed papers

Academic career

University of Kentucky administration

From 1994 to 2003, Holsinger served as Chancellor of the University of Kentucky Medical Center with responsibility for five health colleges, four graduate centers, two hospitals, and numerous clinics in Kentucky.

Under Holsinger’s leadership, the university built the Gill Heart Institute and two research buildings, and Holsinger laid the groundwork for the expansion the hospital has undergone since he left.

Holsinger helped establish the Women’s Health Center and the College of Public Health. In 2004, he was named a Master in the American College of Physicians.

In the late 1990s, Holsinger led an international team to address the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Working with Africa University in Zimbabwe, the team created a School of Health Sciences with nursing and public health programs to educate young people to deal with the AIDS crisis.

Holsinger helped the university obtain a USAID grant to build the facility, which houses one of the few AIDS laboratories in southern Africa. In 2007, the program is preparing to field-test an HIV vaccine.

University of Kentucky faculty
After spending two years in Kentucky state government, he returned to the University of Kentucky as a professor for the graduate program in Public Health.

In 2011, Holsinger was inducted into University of Kentucky College of Public Health Hall of Fame for his service and dedication.

Holsinger is currently the Wethington Endowed Chair in the Health Sciences, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Health Management & Policy.

Government career

Holsinger served for twenty-six years in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from 1969 to 1994. He served at five different hospitals, rising to become a Medical Center Director.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed Holsinger as Chief Medical Director of the VA (title changed to Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health in 1992).

He implemented the joint VA and Department of Defense Contingency Hospital System, which could provide 25,000 beds within seventy-two hours for soldiers fighting in Kuwait during the first Iraq War.

He oversaw the nation’s largest health care system, which served one million in-patients and twenty million outpatient visits per year. Holsinger also developed health care policy for twenty-six million veterans.

When Holsinger assumed the post of Chief Medical Director, the VA was criticized for the quality of the care is provided. In 1991, Holsinger acknowledged that inadequate care had caused the deaths of six patients at its North Chicago hospital.

He commissioned a team to review the quality of care and based on its findings suspended surgical care at the facility. Later, testimony before a Congressional subcommittee reported problems at more than thirty other veterans’ hospitals. Holsinger responded, “Our patients are older, sicker and more complex than the average patient.”

In 1993, he moved to Kentucky to become the Director of the VA Medical Center. He remained a consultant in cardiology for the hospital until 2003. Holsinger was awarded the Surgeon General’s Medal by Surgeon General Antonia Novello.

United States Army Reserve
Holsinger served for over thirty-one years in the United States Army Reserve. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal three times.

He was assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and promoted to major general in medical logistics working at the Pentagon under General Colin Powell. Holsinger retired from the United States Army Reserve in 1993.

Religious life

Good Samaritan Foundation
While Holsinger served as chair of the board of the Good Samaritan Foundation, a philanthropic health care organization, the United Methodist Church of Kentucky sued the foundation over control of $20 million in assets.

Holsinger said the church was “only interested in the foundation’s money, not its cause.” In October 2007, the case was decided in the church’s favor.

Asbury Theological Seminary
In November 2007, the Asbury Theological Seminary board of trustees attempted to remove Holsinger from its board for a possible conflict of interest because he was also a board member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, a division of which was investigating the accreditation status of the seminary.

According to Holsinger, he subsequently resigned because he believed the board was asking him to be less than truthful with regulatory agencies.

Political career

Kentucky state government

Holsinger served as Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for Kentucky under Governor Ernie Fletcher. He was responsible for the management of the state’s health and social services programs, including the five billion dollar Kentucky Medicaid program.

Holsinger also led the response of the social service to the 6,000 evacuees of Hurricane Katrina who relocated to Kentucky.

While serving as Secretary, Holsinger published a paper on physician professionalism stating that the autonomous practice of medicine contributes to physician dissatisfaction because of the prevalence of third-party payers and liability concerns.

He recommended a new professional structure based on teamwork between physicians and “fair access to health care for all Americans.”

The Associated Press said Holsinger was a financial supporter of the Republican Party. According to The Courier-Journal, he contributed $23,000 over ten years to the party and its candidates, including President George W. Bush

James W. Holsinger Wife, Married, Children

Holsinger is an outstanding individual with a lifetime of public service and I can’t think of a finer choice for this office. Certainly, no one is prouder today than Dr. Holsinger’s wife, who you just met, Dr. Barbara Craig Holsinger and their daughters, Anna, Ruth, Sarah, and Rachel.

All of these folks have just been introduced–his mother and his mother-in-law. The whole clan is just about here. Their pride can only grow as he embarks on his greatest role yet in public service.

Dr. Holsinger is currently a Professor at the University of Kentucky and teaches at both the College of Public Health and the College of Medicine.

From 1994 to 2003, he served as Chancellor of the University of Kentucky, AB Chandler Medical Center. In that role, he oversaw several graduate schools and two hospitals.

Yet, Dr. Holsinger has the bedside manner of a Kentucky doctor, he also has the skill and experience to lead the large agency, as the Surgeon General must, by virtue of heading
up the U.S. Public Health Service Commission Corps and its 6,000
members.

James W. Holsinger Net Worth

James Wilson Holsinger Jr. is an American physician. A former major general in the U.S. Army Reserve (1962 to 1993), he has worked primarily in public health for over thirty years.

He served as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health from 1990 to 1993, during the administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

James W. Holsinger’s estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & much more details have been updated below. Let’s check, How Rich is James W. Holsinger in 2018?

According to Wikipedia, Forbes & Various Online resource, James W. Holsinger’s estimated net worth Under Review. You may check previous years net worth, salary & much more from below.

Estimated Net Worth in 2019	$100K-1M (Approx.)
Previous Year’s Net Worth (2018)	Under Review
Annual Salary	Under Review.
Income Source	Primary Income source Military.

Noted, James’s primary income source is Military, Currently, We don’t have enough information about Cars, Monthly/Yearly Salary, etc. We will update soon.