Regina Benjamin Gets Sworn in As Surgeon General

More than 500 people -- including a healthy sprinkling from Alabama -- are expected to be on hand Monday afternoon when Dr. Regina Benjamin is formally sworn in as the 18th U.S. surgeon general.

The ceremony, to be held at the National Museum of the American Indian near the Capitol, will include Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Benjamin's predecessor, Dr. Richard Carmona, according to Lt. Kate Migliaccio, a spokeswoman for the surgeon general's office.

The museum was chosen because it has plenty of room and is near the Health and Human Services headquarters building, she said.

Benjamin, the nationally recognized founder of a Bayou La Batre health clinic, has actually been on the job formally known as "America's chief health educator" since soon after the Senate confirmed her in late October.

President Barack Obama had tapped Benjamin for the post last July. Al