Ana Ríus Armendáriz is a Puerto Rican politician who was Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico in the Cabinet of Puerto Rico.[1][2]

Dr.
Ana Ríus Armendáriz
Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico
In office
16 September 2013 – 31 December 2016
Preceded byFrancisco Joglar
Succeeded byRafael Rodríguez Mercado
Personal details
Bornc. 1953
Cuba
Political partyPopular Democratic Party
Alma materUniversity of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
OccupationAnesthesiologist
One of the buildings where Ana taught her students in the University of Puerto Rico

Education

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Ana went to the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, with a degree in anesthesiology. Soon after that, she became an intern in the VA Medical Center, specializing in internal medicine.[3]

Post Graduation

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Dr. Armendáriz became a professor of Anesthesiology the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. During her 28-year stint, she managed to teach hundreds of students about the field. After moving on from teaching, she was appointed as executive director of the Puerto Rico Medical Services Administration from November 2002 to February 2009. She then went back to teaching, until she was appointed as Secretary of Health.[4]

Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico

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Dr. Armendáriz was appointed as Secretary of Health on September 16, 2013, by Governor Alejandro García Padilla.[2][1]

Medical Marijuana

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On May 4, 2015, Puerto Rico legalized medical marijuana. Dr. Armendariz worked to ensure that there would be appropriate regulations concerning the legalization, including: how it'll be dispensed, what diagnosis will be required, and who will produce it.[5]

Dr. Armendariz also drew up a plan as to when marijuana will be allowed into the territory. She issued that suppliers can start their distribution as early as August, 2015.[6]

Zika

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In early 2015, the Zika outbreak struck Puerto Rico. She expressed the following views of the Zika Epidemic to Outbreak News Today, "The virus is transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the same mosquito that transmits dengue and chikungunya. That is why we want to educate the population about their symptoms and prevention measures to be taken"[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Puerto Rico Braces for Its Own Zika Epidemic". CNBC. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Robert Herriman (26 January 2016). "Puerto Rico reports more Zika cases". Outbreak News Today. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Dr. Ana Rius-Armendariz". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "Ana del Carmen Rius Armendariz, MD" (PDF). Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Puerto Rico authorizes medical marijuana". medicalxpress.com. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  6. ^ "Puerto Rico authorizes medical marijuana". The Tico Times Costa Rica. Retrieved 2019-02-02.