David Hager

Last updated

David Hager
Born
United States
Occupation Physician

W. David Hager is an American physician with a medical board certification in obstetrics and gynecology. In the fall of 2002, Hager, a leading conservative Christian voice on women's health and sexuality, was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by U.S. President George W. Bush.

Physician professional who practices medicine

A physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a professional who practises medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining, or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. Physicians may focus their practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, and methods of treatment—known as specialities—or they may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities—known as general practice. Medical practice properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines, such as anatomy and physiology, underlying diseases and their treatment—the science of medicine—and also a decent competence in its applied practice—the art or craft of medicine.

Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) which is a surgical field.

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest religion with over 2.4 billion followers.

Contents

Family life

In 1970, Hager married Linda Carruth Davis, the daughter of a Methodist evangelist. Together they had three sons. David and Linda Hager's marriage ended by divorce in 2002. In November 2002 Linda, herself a religious and political conservative, was remarried to James Davis, a United Methodist minister.

Evangelism spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the purpose of conversion or a rapprochement with Christianity

In Christianity, evangelism is the commitment to or act of publicly preaching (ministry) of the Gospel with the intention of spreading the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Divorce, also known as dissolution of marriage, is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of property, child custody, alimony, child visitation / access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person.

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, human imperfection, organic society, hierarchy, authority, and property rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity. The more traditional elements—reactionaries—oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were".

In 2003 Hager married Lexington physician Kathleen Martin; in 2007, Martin filed for divorce from Hager.

Education and certification

Hager in 1964 was graduated from Jessamine County High School in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Hager received his undergraduate degree from Asbury College where his father, Cornelius Hager, was the college president. Hager graduated from medical school at University of Kentucky in 1972, and completed an ob/gyn residency at University of Kentucky in 1976. Hager has been board certified in obstetrics and gynecology since 1978.

Asbury University Christian liberal arts university in Wilmore, Kentucky

Asbury University, formerly Asbury College, is a Christian liberal arts institution located in Wilmore, Kentucky, United States. Although it is a nondenominational school, the college's foundation stems from a Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. The school offers 50 majors across 17 departments. Primarily a four-year college, Asbury was ranked in the third tier of liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report in 2008. Approximately 34 percent of incoming freshmen are in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, and more than 80 percent of current faculty are full-time. In the fall of 2016, Asbury University had a total enrollment of 1,854: 1,640 traditional undergraduate students and 214 graduate students. Asbury University is a member of the Christian College Consortium and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The campus of Asbury Theological Seminary, which became a separate institution in 1940, is located across the street from Asbury University. The college's mission statement is, "Asbury University, a Christian Liberal Arts University in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition, equips students, through academic excellence and spiritual vitality, for lifelong learning, leadership and service to the professions, society, the family and the Church, preparing them to engage their cultures and advance the cause of Christ around the world."

A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians and surgeons. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Doctor of Medicine (MD), or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). Many medical schools offer additional degrees, such as a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), Master's degree (M.Sc), a physician assistant program, or other post-secondary education.

University of Kentucky Public research university in Lexington, KY, USA

The University of Kentucky (UK) is a public co-educational university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's two land-grant universities, the largest college or university in the state, with 30,720 students as of Fall 2015, and the highest ranked research university in the state according to U.S. News and World Report.

Career

Hager is a practicing gynecologist in Lexington, Kentucky. After completing his OB/GYN residency, Hager was a clinical research investigator for sexually transmitted diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta from 1976 to 1978. He had a faculty position at Emory University from 1976 to 1978, and has been a part-time "professor" at the University of Kentucky since 1978. ("Though his resume describes Hager as a University of Kentucky professor, a university official says Hager's appointment is part time and voluntary and involves working with interns at Lexington's Central Baptist Hospital, not the university itself." Time citation below) His research interests include mastitis, post-operative infections, Group B Strep infections, and vaginitis. Hager was president of Infectious Disease Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1996 to 1998. He was also named as one of the "Best Doctors in America" in both 1994 and 1996. Other present and past affiliations include, the Focus on the Family's Physician Resource Council and the Christian Medical and Dental Society's Physician Resource Council. Hager was previously a member of Asbury College's board of trustees.

Lexington, Kentucky Consolidated city-county in Kentucky, United States

Lexington, consolidated with Fayette County and often denoted as Lexington-Fayette, is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 60th-largest city in the United States. By land area, Lexington is the 28th largest city in the United States. Known as the "Horse Capital of the World," it is the heart of the state's Bluegrass region. It has a nonpartisan mayor-council form of government, with 12 council districts and three members elected at large, with the highest vote-getter designated vice mayor. In the 2018 U.S. Census Estimate, the city's population was 323,780 anchoring a metropolitan area of 516,697 people and a combined statistical area of 746,330 people.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention government agency

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the leading national public health institute of the United States. The CDC is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Emory University private research university in Druid Hills, Georgia, United States

Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia, by the Methodist Episcopal Church and was named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. In 1915, Emory College moved to its present location in Druid Hills and was rechartered as Emory University. Emory maintained a presence in Oxford that eventually became Oxford College, a residential liberal arts college for the first two years of the Emory baccalaureate degree. The university is the second-oldest private institution of higher education in Georgia and among the fifty oldest private universities in the United States.

Additionally, President George W. Bush appointed Hager to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008. [1]

George W. Bush 43rd president of the United States

George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He had previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

Jerusalem City in the Middle East

Jerusalem is a city in the Middle East, located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.

Controversy over FDA advisory committee appointment

Hager's appointment became more divisive when on May 6, 2004, the FDA rejected the December 16, 2003 Advisory Committee 23 to 4 vote to drop the prescription-only status of emergency contraception, and refused to approve the sale of Plan B over the counter.

Levonorgestrel pharmaceutical drug

Levonorgestrel is a hormonal medication which is used in a number of birth control methods. As an emergency birth control, sold under the brand name Plan B among others, it is useful within 120 hours of unprotected sex. The more time that has passed since sex, the less effective the medication becomes, and it does not work after pregnancy (implantation) has occurred. It decrease the chances of pregnancy by 57 to 93%. It is also combined with an estrogen to make combination birth control pills. In an intrauterine device (IUD), such as Mirena among others, it is effective for the long-term prevention of pregnancy. An implantable form of levonorgestrel is also available in some countries.

First, The Nation , and then The Washington Post and Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Hager spoke at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, about his role in persuading the FDA to keep Plan B a prescription-only drug. Hager said, "I was asked to write a minority opinion that was sent to the commissioner of the FDA. For only the second time in five decades, the FDA did not abide by its advisory committee opinion, and the measure was rejected."

Further concerns with his candidacy arose with his beliefs and medical assertions penned in the book "Stress and The Woman's Body", co-written with his ex-wife Linda Carruth-Davis. In the book, his writings emphasized the "restorative power of Jesus Christ in one's life" and recommended specific Scripture readings and prayers for such ailments as headaches and premenstrual syndrome.

Publications

Journal articles

  1. Hager WD. Treatment of metronidazole-resistant Trichomonas vaginalis with tinidazole: case reports of three patients. Sex Transm Dis. 2004 Jun;31(6):343-5
  2. Stanford JB, Hager WD, Crockett SA.The FDA, politics, and plan B. N Engl J Med. 2004 Jun 3;350(23):2413-4; author reply 2413-4.
  3. Larsen JW, Hager WD, Livengood CH, Hoyme U. Guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of postoperative infections. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol. 2003;11(1):65-70.
  4. Fitch JT, Stine C, Hager WD, Mann J, Adam MB, McIlhaney J. Condom effectiveness: factors that influence risk reduction. Sex Transm Dis. 2002 Dec;29(12):811-7.
  5. David Hager, W., Schuchat, Anne, Gibbs, Ronald, Sweet, Richard, Mead, Philip, Larsen, John W. PREVENTION OF PERINATAL GROUP B STREPTOCOCCAL INFECTION: CURRENT CONTROVERSIES Obstet Gynecol 2000 96: 141-145
  6. McGregor JA, Hager WD, Gibbs RS, Schmidt L, Schulkin J. Assessment of office-based care of sexually transmitted diseases and vaginitis and antibiotic decision-making by obstetrician-gynecologists. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol. 1998;6(6):247-51.
  7. Hager WD, Barton JR. The treatment of sporadic acute puerperal mastitis. IDOG 1996;4:97-101.
  8. McGregor J, Hager WD, Eschenbach DS, Mead P, Sweet RL, Gibbs RS. Modes of practice in OB-GYN infections. Obstet Gynecol 83:631-36, 1994.
  9. Barton JR, Thorpe EM, Shaver DC, Hager WD, et al. Nonimmune hydrops fetalis associated with maternal infection with syphilis. Am J Obstet Gynecol 167:56, 1992.
  10. Hager WD, Rapp RP, Billeter M, Bradley BB. The choice of an antibiotic for women undergoing non-elective cesarean section. J Anti Agents and Chemo 35:1782,1991.
  11. Hager WD, Bird M, Callahan JC, Frank AL, David ML, Engelberg J. Promiscuity and public health: some clinical and ethical issues. Hosp Pract. 1990 Sep 15;25(9):63, 66, 69-70+
  12. Hager WD, Sweet RL, Charles D, Larsen B. Comparative study of mezlocillin versus cefotaxime single dose prophylaxis in patients undergoing vaginal hysterectomy. Current Therapeutic Research, 45:63-9, 1989.

Books

  1. Hager WD, Hager LC. STRESS AND THE WOMAN'S BODY. Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996.
  2. Mead P, Hager WD. INFECTION PROTOCOLS FOR OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY. Medical Economics Company, Montvale, New Jersey, 1992, Revised 1998.
  3. Hager WD, Joy, D Women at Risk: The Real Truth about Sexually Transmitted Disease.

Footnotes

  1. Lake, Eli (May 13, 2008). "Bush Visit May Boost Olmert". The New York Sun .

Sources

Related Research Articles

Obstetrics and gynaecology or obstetrics and gynecology is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics and gynaecology. It's commonly abbreviated as OB-GYN or OB/GYN in US English, and as obs and gynae or O&G in British English.

Gynaecology science of the treatment of diseases of the female sexual organs and reproductive tract

Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive systems and the breasts. Outside medicine, the term means "the science of women". Its counterpart is andrology, which deals with medical issues specific to the male reproductive system.

Trichomoniasis Gagoparasitic protozoa infectious disease that is caused by singled-celled protozoan parasites Trichomonas vaginalis or Trichomonas tenax, which infect the urogenital tract and mouth respectively

Trichomoniasis (trich) is an infectious disease caused by the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. About 70% of women and men do not have symptoms when infected. When symptoms do occur they typically begin 5 to 28 days after exposure. Symptoms can include itching in the genital area, a bad smelling thin vaginal discharge, burning with urination, and pain with sex. Having trichomoniasis increases the risk of getting HIV/AIDS. It may also cause complications during pregnancy.

Vaginitis, also known as vulvovaginitis, is inflammation of the vagina and vulva. Symptoms may include itching, burning, pain, discharge, and a bad smell. Certain types of vaginitis may result in complications during pregnancy.

William Griffith McBride CBE AO was an Australian obstetrician. He discovered the teratogenicity of thalidomide, which resulted in the reduction of the number of drugs prescribed during pregnancy.

Gynecologic ultrasonography

Gynecologic ultrasonography or gynecologic sonography refers to the application of medical ultrasonography to the female pelvic organs as well as the bladder, the adnexa, and the recto-uterine pouch. The procedure may lead to other medically relevant findings in the pelvis.

John A. Sampson American gynecologist

John Albertson Sampson was a gynecologist who studied endometriosis.

Max Saenger German obstetrician

Max Saenger was a German obstetrician and gynecologist who was a native of Bayreuth.

Carlos Sueldo is a physician and professor of obstetrics and gynaecology (OB/GYN) for the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Sueldo is also the founder (1984) and present Director of the in vitro fertilization IVF Fertility Center. Dr. Sueldo concurrently serves as the Scientific Director at the Center for Gynecology and Reproduction (CEGYR) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is a founding board member of the World Endometriosis Research Foundation.

Diane Sharon Fordney is an American physician and sex therapist best known for her work on sexual function and dysfunction. She has also published professionally as Diane S. Fordney-Settlage.

Granulomatous mastitis can be divided into idiopathic granulomatous mastitis and granulomatous mastitis occurring as a rare secondary complication of a great variety of other conditions such as tuberculosis and other infections, sarcoidosis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Special forms of granulomatous mastitis occur as complication of diabetes. Some cases are due to silicone injection or other foreign body reactions.

Nawal M. Nour is a Obstetrician/Gynecologist who directs the Ambulatory Obstetrics Practice at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her research and practice focus on providing the right care to women who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), also called female circumcision, and she founded the first and only hospital center in the U.S. that focuses on the medical needs of African women who have undergone FGM/C. In 2017, she was listed in Forbes among 40 Women To Watch.

Michael L. Brodman, M.D. is an American gynecologist and obstetrician and currently the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Chairman’s Chair and Professor of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He is recognized internationally as a pioneer in the field of urogynecology.

Max Hofmeier German gynecologist

Max Friedrich Adolph Hofmeier was a German gynecologist.

Dr. Scott B. Ransom is a Partner in the Health Industries Advisory at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) | Strategy&. He serves as a consultant to hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, physician groups, insurance companies, private equity firms, and universities on issues related to strategy-enabled transformation, Fit for Growth, leading physician and faculty engagement, organizational redesign, restructuring and turnaround management, medical education, physician and faculty integration and engagement, clinical and research operations, mergers and acquisitions, capability building, and performance improvement.

Benjamin P. Sachs is a physician with health care management experience at the Harvard Medical School hospitals and the Tulane University Medical Center.

Tubal factor infertility

Tubal factor infertility (TFI) is female infertility caused by diseases, obstructions, damage, scarring, congenital malformations or other factors which impede the descent of a fertilized or unfertilized ovum into the uterus through the Fallopian tubes and prevents a normal pregnancy and full term birth. Tubal factors cause 25-30% of infertility cases. Tubal factor is one complication of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in women.

An obstetric hospitalist is an obstetrician and gynaecologist physician who is either employed by a hospital or a physician practice and whose duties include providing care for laboring patients and managing obstetric emergencies. Some obstetrics hospitalists also have responsibilities including resident and medical student teaching; providing backup support for family practitioners and nurse midwives, assisting private physicians with surgery, assuming care for ob-gyn patients unassigned to a physician and providing vacation coverage for the private practicing physician.

Bhalchandra Nilkanth Purandare, was an Indian Gynecologist and the director of the Dr. N.A. Purandare Medical Centre for Family Welfare and Research, Mumbai. He served as the president of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) from 1973 to 1976 and the Mumbai Obstetric and Gynecological Society (MOGS) from 1966 to 1968. He was an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (1961). The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1972, for his contributions to medicine. His brother Dr. Vithal N. Purandare was also an acclaimed obstetrician and gynaecologist, renowned for his surgical prowess. He served as President of the Mumbai Obstetrics and Gynecology society(1973-1975) and FOGSI President in 1981. Their nephew Dr. C. N. Purandare, is a prominent gynaecologist and an ex President of FIGO.

Paul Nyirjesy is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Drexel University, Philadelphia, and the director of Drexel Vaginitis Center. In 2016, Nyirjesy announced positive results from a clinical trial for a potential vaccine against Vaginitis.