Mask-loving former Surgeon General is now director of Purdue’s ‘Health Equity Initiatives’

The former Surgeon General of the United States is now a “health equity” director at Purdue University.

Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as Surgeon General in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, was named as Executive Director of Health Equity Initiatives at Purdue in October 2021. He also led the University’s 2nd annual “Health Equity Summit” in February.

“I am the director of health equity, not the director of health equality,” Adams said at the Summit, explaining that the two terms are not interchangeable. “Equity is not about making sure everyone gets the same thing… Equity is about making sure people are getting what they need… equity is really about race, but it’s also about place, it’s about gender, it’s about ability,” he added.

Equipping the industry with the “new tools and capabilities” is a step in resolving the “major gaps in health equity data,” the Health Equity Summit presentation later stated. Adding race and ethnicity fields on the Medicare Advantage Enrollment form is one example of how Purdue views progress in healthcare inequities.

Purdue’s Health Equity Initiatives, a strategic initiative within the Office of the Provost, focuses on health disparities by scrutinizing discrimination and bias in the healthcare system, Adams told Campus Reform. 

“Unfortunately too many people and groups - including women, veterans, those living in rural communities, people who are differently abled, those who identify as LGBTQ, and many racial minority groups, continue to experience poorer health outcomes,” Adams said.

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The Health Equity Initiatives program’s mission is to “ensure all people have fair access to resources and opportunities that will allow them to make healthy choices,” its website states.

In an interview with the university, the former Surgeon General said he believes the Health Equity Initiatives will help society “regain trust in science and in the scientific process…because not everyone has equitable access” to healthcare. 

Adams has continued to promote COVID-19 safety measures on his social media, such as wearing masks and getting vaccines and boosters.

“Well this is going to upset quite a few people,” he tweeted, referencing a study that suggests mask mandates and lockdowns worked to reduce the virus’ spread. 

[RELATED: Robin DiAngelo to train healthcare professionals in ‘racial equity’ for Mayo Clinic]

In August, Adams posted a photo of himself and a flight attendant wearing masks, more than three years post-pandemic. 

He also defended his advocacy for masks and vaccines, saying that “encouraging masks and vaccines doesn’t automatically make you a mandating cultist tyrant.”

Another tweet by Adams defended former NIAID director and White House Chief Medical Adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, from “hateful comments” in response to news of his retirement.

Campus Reform also contacted Purdue University and the HEI office for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.