# Sylvia Trent-Adams

Sylvia Trent-Adams (born June 15, 1965) is a retired U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rear admiral, who last served as the principal deputy assistant secretary for health from January 2, 2019 to August 31, 2020. She previously served as the deputy surgeon general of the United States from October 25, 2015 to January 2, 2019. Trent-Adams also served as the acting surgeon general of the United States from April 21, 2017 to September 5, 2017. She retired from the U.S. Public Health Service on September 30, 2020 after over 33 years of combined uniformed service. On October 5, 2020, Trent-Adams was named to the board of directors for AMN Healthcare. On January 20, 2025, while serving as the president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Sylvia Trent-Adams was asked to step down, four months after an NBC News investigation uncovered that the center had failed to contact families before using their loved ones’ corpses for medical research. In September, NBC News published the first installment of a yearlong investigation into the Fort Worth-based Health Science Center’s practice of chopping up, studying and leasing out the bodies of the unclaimed dead — those whose family members often cannot be easily reached, or whose relatives cannot pay for cremation or burial.Over a five-year period, the center had received about 2,350 unclaimed bodies from Dallas and Tarrant counties and used many of them to train medical students; others it dissected and leased to outside groups, including major biotech companies and the U.S. Army, helping bring in about $2.5 million a year to the center. This was done without consent from the dead and, in many cases, without the knowledge of any of their survivors.

## Education

Trent-Adams received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Hampton University, a Master of Science in nursing and health policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and a doctorate of nursing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. After attending college on an ROTC scholarship, she served as an officer in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps for five years, on the oncology unit of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

## Career

Trent-Adams has held various positions in HHS, working to improve access to care for poor and under-served communities. As a clinician and administrator, she has had a direct impact on building systems of care to improve public health for marginalized populations.
Prior to joining the Office of the Surgeon General, Trent-Adams was the deputy associate administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). She assisted in managing the $2.3 billion Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 (Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program) for uninsured people living with HIV disease as well as training for health care professionals.
Trent-Adams began her career in the Commissioned Corps of the PHSCC in 1992. She has published numerous articles and presented to organizations and professional groups. Prior to joining the USPHS, Trent-Adams was a nurse officer in the U.S. Army. She also served as a research nurse at the University of Maryland. Trent-Adams completed two internships in the U.S. Senate where she focused on the prospective payment system for skilled nursing facilities and scope of practice for nurses and psychologists. She has served as guest lecturer at the University of Maryland and Hampton University. Her clinical practice was in trauma, oncology, community health, and infectious disease. She serves as chair of the Federal Public Health Nurse Leadership Council, and the Federal Nursing Service Council.

### Acting Surgeon General of the United States

On April 21, 2017, Trent-Adams was named acting surgeon general, replacing Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, a physician, who was relieved as surgeon general by the Trump administration. In assuming the post, Trent-Adams became the second non-physician to serve as surgeon general. Robert A. Whitney, a veterinarian, served as the 17th (acting) surgeon general. She is the second nurse to serve in this role. Richard Carmona, who served in the role under George W. Bush, was both a nurse and a physician. She was succeeded by Vice Admiral Jerome Adams on September 5, 2017.

## Awards and decorations

| Badges | Officer-in-Charge Badge | Officer-in-Charge Badge | Officer-in-Charge Badge | Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Badge | Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Badge | Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Badge |
| 1st row | Public Health Service Meritorious Service Medal | Public Health Service Meritorious Service Medal | Surgeon General's Medallion | Surgeon General's Medallion | Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal with one gold award star | Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal with one gold award star |
| 2nd row | Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medal | Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medal | Public Health Service Commendation Medal | Public Health Service Commendation Medal | Army Commendation Medal | Army Commendation Medal |
| 3rd row | Public Health Service Achievement Medal | Public Health Service Achievement Medal | Army Achievement Medal | Army Achievement Medal | USUHS Distinguished Service Medal | USUHS Distinguished Service Medal |
| 4th row | United States Public Health Service Presidential Unit Citation | United States Public Health Service Presidential Unit Citation | Public Health Service Outstanding Unit Citation | Public Health Service Outstanding Unit Citation | Public Health Service Unit Commendation with three silver service stars | Public Health Service Unit Commendation with three silver service stars |
| 5th row | Florence Nightingale Medal | Florence Nightingale Medal | Public Health Service Global Health Campaign Medal | Public Health Service Global Health Campaign Medal | Public Health Service Ebola Campaign Medal with Expeditionary Attachment | Public Health Service Ebola Campaign Medal with Expeditionary Attachment |
| 6th row | Public Health Service Special Assignment Award with service star | Public Health Service Special Assignment Award with service star | Public Health Service Foreign Duty Award | Public Health Service Foreign Duty Award | Public Health Service Crisis Response Service Award | Public Health Service Crisis Response Service Award |
| 7th row | Public Health Service Global Response Service Award | Public Health Service Global Response Service Award | Public Health Service Bicentennial Unit Commendation Award | Public Health Service Bicentennial Unit Commendation Award | National Defense Service Medal | National Defense Service Medal |
| 8th row | Public Health Service Regular Corps Ribbon | Public Health Service Regular Corps Ribbon | Commissioned Corps Training Ribbon | Commissioned Corps Training Ribbon | Army Service Ribbon | Army Service Ribbon |
In 2017, she was awarded the Red Cross' Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction in the nursing profession.

## Personal life

Trent-Adams grew up on a farm in Concord, Virginia and graduated from Appomattox County High School in 1983. She is married to Dennis Adams and has two daughters.