Dr. Antonia Coello Novello has been confirmed as surgeon general by the Senate, becoming the first woman and first Hispanic to hold the post.
The action came Thursday night on a voice vote without debate.She succeeds C. Everett Koop, who stepped down in December.
A 45-year-old pediatrician and expert on AIDS in children, Novello has been deputy director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health.