secretary
of health and human services.
BY ELAINE DE VALLE edevalle@herald.com
President Bush will tap one of South Florida's strongest advocates for the
elderly to help guide the federal government on aging issues and senior citizen
services. The administration on Thursday said it intends to nominate Josefina
Carbonell, president and chief executive of the Little Havana Activities and
Nutrition Centers, as assistant secretary of health and human services for
aging.
Carbonell, who served on the National Committee to Preserve Social Security
and Medicare in Washington, will require Senate confirmation. She will be the
first person from Florida to serve in the aging department and is the third
Cuban American selected for a prominent position in the Bush administration. The
others are Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez and Otto Reich,
assistant secretary of state for Western Hemispheric affairs.
Carbonell was already in the nation's capital Thursday -- at the National
Alliance for Hispanic Health, where she serves on the board -- catching up on
issues and programs. ``It's indeed a wonderful honor to be chosen by President
Bush,' she said. ``It's also a privilege to serve older Americans throughout
the country.'
If confirmed, she will report to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. ``I don't
think she'll have any difficulty with confirmation,' said U.S. Rep. Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami. ``We've been really plugging her hard because there is no
one more qualified than Josefina to lead the charge on senior health issues.'
``They couldn't have picked a better person,' said John Stokesberry,
executive director of the Alliance for Aging, which administers about $45
million in federal and state funds for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. He has
known Carbonell for more than 20 years, since he was appointed the state's
director of aging in 1980 by then-Gov. Bob Graham. ``Josefina has devoted her
whole life to working in the aging network, and as a provider she has an insight
that is unique,' he said. ``She's knowledgeable. She's experienced. She's
politically astute. She's compassionate. And she's sensitive to the
multicultural, multiethnic community, which is what the rest of the country will
look like in the next 15 to 20 years.'
Carbonell came from Cuba in 1961 and started her advocacy career as a
volunteer when she feared service agencies were bypassing immigrants. She was a
founder of the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers in 1972. Among her
first jobs now is to look at a new family caregiver support program being
implemented by the administration. It's the first significant new program in the
area of caregiver support, she said, since the meals program approved in the
early 1970s. The $125 million program, she said, will provide services for
caregivers -- access to information, respite care, home care, support programs
and more.
Carbonell's other priorities include Medicaid reform and prescription drug
benefits. ``This is a very important historical moment,' she said. ``America is
aging. The demographics reflect the tremendous surge of older Americans in our
country and a need to have available support, information and access to
information for many caregivers with aging parents or relatives.'
She said she is reluctant to leave her family and friends behind --though she
plans to keep her Coral Gables home. ``One of the hardest things is not to be
able to drive to Little Havana every morning and see my little old people, but I
think the president has given me the opportunity to not only help the Miami-Dade
elderly but all the older Americans throughout the country.'
© 2001 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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