Dr. Karen Hein is a pediatrician and health policy expert who founded the first comprehensive

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

program (research, clinical care and advocacy) for adolescents in the world.

Early life

Karen Hein was born in 1944 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Her father was a physician. Her mother also showed great interest in medicine, auditing classes at Karen's father's medical school and volunteering in his genetics lab, while at the same time caring for the couple's four children. Karen later said that she became a physician "because my mother couldn't".

Education

Dr. Hein earned her bachelor's degree from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1966. She first entered medical school at Dartmouth Medical School in 1966 and attended there from 1966 to 1968. She then transferred to Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where she graduated with an M.D. in 1970.

Career

After graduating from medical school, Dr. Hein completed a fellowship in adolescent medicine at Montefiore Hospital. Her first job out of fellowship was at the Spofford Juvenile Center, treating adolescent patients in trouble with the law. Subsequently, Dr Hein went on to a series of senior leadership positions in The Federal Government (Professional Staff of The US Senate Finance Committee, philanthropy (as President, William T Grant Foundation, ‘think tank’ (as Executive Officer, The Institute of Medicine, now renamed The National Academy of Medicine) as well as serving on the Advisory Boards of many not-for-profit organizations including The RAND Corp's Health Advisory Board, The IRC, ChildFund International and CUSON Advisory Boards.

Publications

Dr. Hein has published nearly 150 books, articles, and abstracts over the course of her career. Some of her notable publications include: * AIDS in Adolescence: A Rationale for Concern, 1987 * AIDS: Trading Fears for Facts, A Guide for Teens, 1989 * "Aligning Science with Politics and Policy in HIV Prevention"

Activism

In her own words, she became a physician to "be an agent of change in society by helping to improve the system related to health of the people in this country and around the world." Her activism began as a student working with the Student Health Organization, where she helped care for abandoned babies at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx.

HIV/AIDS Activism

Dr. Hein's background in adolescent medicine gave her a unique perspective on the growing

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

in the 1980s. With the help of her husband, Dr. Ralph Dell, a pediatrician who created a mathematical model to predict that HIV would become present in the adolescent population, Dr. Hein authored a paper, "AIDS in Adolescents: A Rationale for Concern", for which she was awarded a $1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control. With this grant she established the first HIV/AIDS program specifically for adolescents in the world, the Adolescent Risk Reduction Program at Montefiore Hospital. She served there as the program's founding director.

Green Mountain Care Board

In May 2011, the

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

legislature passed Act 48, a law that intended "to create a health care system in which all residents receive coverage from a single source, with all coverage offered equitably and health care costs contained by systematic change in the way providers of health care are compensated for their services.” As a result, Dr. Karen Hein was appointed as one of five members of the Green Mountain Care Board, which oversees the health care system of the state of Vermont. In her role on the GMCB, she has also emphasized social, economic, and personal well-being for the citizens of Vermont, promoting healthy school lunches, upkeep of bike paths, and meaningful, safe employment among other causes.

Later life

In 2003, Dr. Hein and her husband, Dr. Ralph Dell, moved to

Whitingham, Vermont Whitingham is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Nathan Whiting, a landholder. The population was 1,344 at the 2020 census. Whitingham is the birthplace of Brigham Young, the second president of the Church o ...

, where they have owned a home for several decades. Together they have fulfilled a childhood dream of Karen's to live in Vermont among the trees. There, Karen raises cashmere goats. She weaves and knits with cashmere wool from her flock each morning.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hein, Karen 1944 births Living people American pediatricians Women pediatricians University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni www.karenhein.com