Dr. Cecil F. Bennett Jr. grew up in Brooklyn New York. He completed his undergraduate studies at Syracuse University, earning a degree in Biology. After working as a pharmaceutical representative with Merck and Geigy Pharmaceuticals, at the encouragement of a physician mentor from Morehouse School of Medicine, he applied and was accepted to Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Bennett became president of the Student Government Association during his fourth year in medical school. He also served on the Morehouse School of Medicine Board of Trustees.
Upon the completion of medical school, Dr. Bennett began and completed his training in Family Medicine at The Morehouse School of Medicine Family Practice Center, where he served as Chief resident in his final year. After residency and becoming board certified in Family Medicine, Dr. Bennett founded The Atlanta Primary Center, in Atlanta Georgia. Today The Atlanta Primary Center is the largest full service primary care center in its Atlanta area, serving a largely underserved population. Dr. Bennett was called upon by Grady Hospital, a 900 bed facility in Atlanta, to develop and manage the hospital’s struggling medical center at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport; the busiest airport in the world. Within one year the facility increased revenues by $1million. This was one of five separate ventures Dr. Bennett has taken from concept to million dollar entities within the last eight years.
Dr. Bennett was one of the founders, and the first Chairman of the board of Trustees and President of Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba. Under his leadership, the medical school’s enrollment flourished; from seventeen initial students to four hundred students three years later. Today, Xavier boasts a significant number practicing medical doctors in the US who trained at the institution. Dr. Bennett also served as the Associate Dean of Medical Education for Washington Adventist University in Washington DC. His primary responsibility at the university was to expand the university’s opportunities in allied health and medical education both here and abroad. Dr. Bennett created educational opportunities for the university with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, The United Kingdom and The Caribbean.
Seeing a void in the clinical preparedness of foreign trained doctors who wish to practice in the United States, Dr. Bennett founded the National Center for International Medical Education, NCIME, as a vehicle for improving international medical education standards. The vision of the National Center for International Medical Education is to be the leader in providing standardized US clinical medicine training to foreign medical students and graduates. Projects for the NCIME have taken Dr. Bennett to agreements with government education and health ministries, and medical school partnerships in Central America, South America, The Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East.
To understand healthcare, one has to understand the players. These players include physicians, patients, hospitals, government, medical insurance and drug companies. In 2008, before the election, and before “The Health Reform Act”, Dr. Bennett wrote the book, 'McFly Goes to Med School: Your Physician in the Unraveling U.S. Healthcare Crisis', to explain the true role of those players in healthcare reform. Concerned about U.S. medical education, he dedicated two chapters to that issue in the book. To view a video message from Dr. Bennett about his book, please visit www.mcflybook.com.
According to ABC news, nearly 1/3 of Americans ages 57 to 85 take at least 5 prescription drugs, and people with chronic illnesses may take more than 20 medications daily. There are over 100,000 deaths per year related to polypharmacy, medication misuse, and adverse reactions, which brings it to one of the leading causes of death in this country. This being said, there was no objective method for screening patients for polypharmacy or medication compliance. Lining up a patient’s medication bottles and counting pills was just not good enough for Dr. Bennett. Using the most hi-tech Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrum system Dr. Bennett created the “Bennett Polypharmacy Profile” or “BPP”; the only objective screening tool in the world for medication reconciliation. Tens of thousands of patients have been screened using this simple urinalysis tool for reconciling patient medications thereby identifying individuals at high risk of adverse events due to polypharmacy or medication noncompliance.
Dr. Bennett is a Christian. He is married to his wife Andrea, and has been for twenty six years. He is the father of children Danielle, a graduate of The University of Georgia, Matthew a student at Georgia Southern University, and Alyssa in middle school.
Dr. Bennett served in the US Army and National Guard at the rank of Captain. He served his country during Operation Desert Shield, where he was awarded an Army Commendation medal.
