Steven Hudson

Steven Hudson is the Republican candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 8th Congressional District (map) of Maryland. On February 12th, 2008, he won the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

Bio
I. CAREERS Military and Medical Careers: Dr. Hudson’s military medical career began at Officer Indoctrination School in Newport, Rhode Island, where he was selected as the Company Close Order Drill Leader for 38 new Naval Officers, and he was voted most likely to become an Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Following medical school and internship, he was assigned as the General Medical Officer (GMO) aboard the USS George Washington, which deployed to the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Felix. Upon returning from sea, he departed on a humanitarian mission with the U.S. Navy to Guyana, South America, where he delivered critical and life-saving medical care to the indigenous population. In 1996, he attended flight surgeon training in Pensacola, Florida, where he learned the principles of aerospace medicine, mishap investigation, and how to pilot the TH-57 helicopter. He then reported to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 133 (VAQ-133) in Whidbey Island, Washington, and served as a flight surgeon and medical department head. At VAQ-133, he accumulated over 100 flight hours in the EA-6B Prowler and was trained as an electronic countermeasures officer (ECMO). The squadron deployed to Japan, Korea, and Australia to carry out specific missions related to stability in Asia and the Middle East. In 1998, Dr. Hudson was selected for service in direct support of the President of the United States as the “Marine One” Flight Surgeon with the Presidential Helicopter Squadron (HMX-1) in Quantico, Virginia. In this capacity, he provided direct aeromedical support for the President, Vice President, and other foreign dignitaries as directed by the White House Military Office. He traveled with the President to Ireland, India, New Zealand, Jordan, El Salvador, and Italy. After September 11, 2001, he was hand-selected to serve as the Designated Medical Officer for a classified successor program under the direction of the White House, Continuity of the Presidency. In 2002, he was honorably discharged from active U.S. Naval Service, and he completed a three-year residency in ophthalmology at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he served as Chief Resident. Since leaving active service, Dr. Hudson has remained in the Naval Reserves and currently serves at the rank of Commander (O-5). Dr. Hudson is now in his third year of private ophthalmology practice at the Baltimore Washington Eye Center. He evaluates and treats patients with a wide range of medical and surgical eye diseases. Most commonly, he performs cataract surgery, glaucoma filtration surgery, and oculoplastic procedures, including blepharoplasties, brow lifts, and lateral tarsal strip procedures. He also uses ophthalmic lasers for treating diabetic retinopathy, refractory glaucoma, and posterior capsular opacification after cataract surgery. He holds unrestricted licenses to practice medicine and surgery in Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. He is board certified in ophthalmology, and he is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Dr. Hudson also has over 10 years of experience as a primary care physician. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Hudson traveled to Baton Rouge, LA and joined other military and civilian physicians in providing acute and emergent general medical care to hundreds of storm victims in need. Legal Career: From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Hudson attended law school at the University of Maryland, where he was associate editor of the Maryland Law Review and receive a certificate in Health Law. Upon graduation, he passed the South Carolina Bar Examination on his first attempt. From 2002 to 2005, he provided pro-bono legal assistance to individual clients and nonprofit organizations on a wide range of issues, including employment contracts, property rights, defamation, wills and estates, real estate transactions, corporate law, and powers of attorney. He holds active bar certificates in South Carolina and the District of Columbia. II. COMMUNITY SERVICE Dr. Hudson is committed to international humanitarianism, volunteerism, and community service. Most recently, he traveled to Breman Asikuma, Ghana, Africa and provided sight-saving surgery to adults and children throughout the region. His mission began at the Our Lady of Grace Mission Hospital where he evaluated hundreds of patients and provided surgical care, including extracapsular cataract extraction, pterygium surgery, ruptured globe repair, and drainage of orbital abscesses. While in Ghana, he also operated at the Christian Eye Center in Cape Coast and at the Presbyterian Hospital in Agogo. While in the field, a fellow volunteer with malaria became ill requiring immediate medical attention. Dr. Hudson rendered this care, thus enabling the volunteer to move forward with his mission. With corporate sponsorship and grants, he procured a large amount of money, ophthalmic medicines, and surgical equipment that will assist local medical officers in screening and treating visual disabilities. From August to September 2007, he traveled to the St. John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem to perform surgical mission work. He performed dozens of cataract surgeries and pediatric eye surgery. As a visiting clinical instructor, he taught Israeli and Palestinian doctors current medical diagnosis and surgical technique. He led an outreach team to Sebastia and Qalqilya. He provided expert medical and legal services for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Immediately after the storm, he contacted the Louisiana State Health Department, packed his van with medical supplies, bottled water, bedding, and extra gasoline, and drove from Central Pennsylvania, through the devastation, to Baton Rouge. When he arrived in Louisiana, the medical director assigned him to the “MED-1” acute care unit at the “K-Mart Hospital,” a large field hospital inside of an empty K-mart building. The hospital received patients almost immediately after opening. Dr. Hudson evaluated and treated hundreds of patients with a wide range of medical problems, including lacerations, infections, dehydration, and stress. Utilizing his professional expertise in ophthalmology, he procured free eye medications from local pharmacies and delivered them to victims who had lost their drops in the storm. The indiscriminate effects of Katrina’s human impact were evident as he finished treating an 80-year-old indigent woman who was suffering from thermal burns and lacerations on her back, and he turned his attention to a 40-year-old local college professor who was suffering from incapacitating anxiety because he had lost everything. It was truly enlightening for him to witness the vast number of health care professionals who volunteered their time and medical skills. This team experience strengthened even further the enormous pride that he has in the medical profession. Following the resolution of acute medical issues in Louisiana, Dr. Hudson joined over 600 other attorneys and registered with the Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division Disaster Legal Assistance Program. As a telephone volunteer, he assisted Gulf Coast victims with their homeowners and rental insurance claims. Most of his work involved negotiations with insurance companies over exclusionary clauses for wind, hailstorm, and flooding. He was also instrumental in helping victims connect with resources for rebuilding their lives, including state and federal funding agencies and grants. In this regard, he was able to help victims get on with their lives by easing their legal burdens. The outpouring of attorney volunteers strengthened even further the enormous pride that he has in the legal profession. With both medical and legal training, Dr. Hudson was in a unique position to provide multidisciplinary assistance to those who needed it most. Dr. Hudson has served his community in many other ways. He serves on the Clearfield County Planning Commission and reviews subdivisions and land developments in Clearfield County municipalities utilizing the Clearfield County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. He also provides input into the development of new planning documents and participates in education and training programs throughout the year. As Chapter Chair and volunteer for the DuBois American Red Cross, he provides assistance to military members and their families, relief to victims of local disasters, and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. He also chairs the Avian Flu Preparedness Committee and is working with local authorities on a response plan for pandemic influenza. Dr. Hudson is also a member of the Dubois Area Jaycees, where he volunteers in many different community service programs, including adopt-a-highway and a holiday meals program. This past Thanksgiving, he and other members of the Jaycees delivered turkey dinners to the less fortunate throughout the local area. He also provides free seminars to the public on “the aging eye.” These lectures provide senior citizens with information about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases such as macular degeneration, diabetes, and glaucoma. While in Charleston, SC, Dr. Hudson volunteered with several local organizations. First, he served as a volunteer counselor, educator, and grant-writer for Birthright of Charleston, which offers non-sectarian, non-moralistic, and non-judgmental teen pregnancy counseling and assistance. In this capacity, he also assisted clients with Medicaid applications and, if requested by the client, educated them on other alternatives, such as adoption. Also in South Carolina, he provided free comprehensive eye care services to the indigent population in the Charleston Community as a volunteer physician in the Fight for Sight Program, where he also served as Finance Committee Chair. During his three years in Charleston, he also provided over 200 hours of pro-bono legal services to individual clients, including wills, trusts, estates, residential contract agreement disputes, employment negotiations and disputes, defamation injury, and personal property disagreement. Since his admission to the South Carolina Bar, he has never accepted any remuneration for any of his legal services. III. PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS Dr. Hudson has a truly remarkable record of professional achievement. As a GMO aboard the USS George Washington in 1995, Dr. Hudson assisted with the medical evacuation of a seriously injured shipmate. In hurricane force winds and rough Atlantic seas, he was flown by helicopter to a small frigate class vessel where the injury occurred. He evaluated and stabilized the injured sailor and assisted with his aeromedical evacuation to the aircraft carrier, where he received definitive medical treatment. As a flight surgeon at VAQ-133, he was directly responsible for 100 percent squadron medical readiness, which resulted in zero major illnesses or injuries on a six-month WESTPAC deployment. At HMX-1, Dr. Hudson performed limb-saving advanced traumatic life support on a Marine whose leg was crushed under a helicopter, and on a separate occasion, performed traumatic life support for three Marines who were seriously injured in a cable hoist mishap on the flight line. On the day of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, “LCDR Hudson and his outstanding medical team expeditiously devised an aeromedical evacuation and response plan for the entire Capitol Region that included medical equipment staging for eight aircraft, personnel recruitment and the compilation of lat/long coordinates, communication frequencies and max weights for landing pads at area hospitals. . . he expertly anticipated and procured critical testing equipment and antibiotics to address the current anthrax threat” (S.P. Taylor, 2001). In addition to his operational medical achievements, Dr. Hudson has made significant and lasting contributions to the ophthalmology literature. He authored three chapters in a leading surgical textbook, Vitreoretinal Surgery of the Injured Eye. Additionally, he published three peer-reviewed journal articles on antibiotic efficacy in treating posttraumatic endophthalmitis, a vision-threatening infection that may occur after penetrating eye trauma. Incorporating his military aviation background, he also authored a comprehensive journal article on eye injuries after laser exposure, which outlines the potentially catastrophic effects of laser weapon strikes on pilots and aircraft. The article is now cited extensively throughout the ophthalmic and laser safety literature, including in the Certified Laser Safety Officer™ Examination Reference Guide. IV. HONORS AND AWARDS Dr. Hudson’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation (2), Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2), Battle ‘E” Award, National Defense Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and the U.S. Navy Pistol and Rifle Sharpshooter Ribbons. He also earned his Basic Parachutist and Naval Flight Surgeon Wings. In 1995, he was awarded a Letter of Commendation for service and assistance with an at-sea rescue aboard the USS George Washington; the citation reads “your willingness to assist during an evening MEDEVAC from another ship was invaluable to the safe transport and evaluation of an injured shipmate” (D.A. Bailey). In 1997, he received the COMVAQWINGPAC (Pacific Coast) nomination for Flight Surgeon of the Year. In 1999, he was awarded the Donald F. Hagen Young Physician Award by the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS). This award is presented annually to a physician of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Health Service or Department of Veterans Affairs “to recognize early accomplishment and future potential in federal health care leadership or to the international community.” In 2000, he was awarded the White House Service Badge and Certificate (#17816) for “Honorable Service in the White House.”  Selected quotes from his commanding officers about his performance over the years include the following: “the epitome of a Navy and command ambassador” (G.B. Hicks, 1997); “unmatched devotion and passion to his profession and for his patients” (K.V. Smolana, 1998); “my most trusted advisor on all human factors counseling matters” (K.V. Smolana, 1998); “skillfully and emergently removed an embedded metallic object from an aviator’s eye, sparing loss of his vision. . . 100 percent reliable” (J. Russell, 1998); “outstanding operational medical officer with unlimited leadership potential” (R.A. Berube, 1999); “exemplifies highest moral standards and military bearing. . . compassionate demeanor fosters trust among all” (A.M. Reynolds, 2000); and “intelligence, decisiveness, and mission-orientation guarantees spectacular results every time” (S.P. Taylor, 2001). Dr. Hudson has been recognized by many other professional organizations for his superior leadership, performance, and writing ability. In 2001, he received the coveted Joseph Bernstein Prize for the senior law student who submitted the most significant piece of legal writing for publication in the Maryland Law Review. His published casenote included a creative analysis that combined criminal law, fundamental rights, and public health. In 2003, he received the American Medical Association’s Foundation Leadership Award for demonstrating “strong non-clinical leadership skills in medicine or community affairs and have an interest in further developing these skills within organized medicine.” In 2004, he received the Medical University of South Carolina’s prestigious Applause Award for Excellence in Patient Care. In 2005, Dr. Hudson received the SEI Program Director’s Award for Outstanding Resident of the Year. This is the highest honor that an ophthalmology resident can receive from the Storm Eye Institute; the award is given to “the resident who best displays the behaviors and attitudes each of us looks for in our own personal physician.” The recipient of the Program Director’s Award is voted on by all personnel at the Institute, including over 100 staff, technicians, scientists, fellow residents, and ophthalmologists. In 2005, Dr. Hudson was elected as clinical faculty to membership in Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA), the only honor society that recognizes excellence in the medical profession. The AΩA Chapter Councilor noted the Dr. Hudson distinguished himself as a leader in his field through continued academic achievement and dedication to medical student teaching. In 2006, Dr. Hudson received the 2006 Community Service Award from the American Medical Association for his medical and legal assistance of Hurricane Katrina victims, and he was named one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA) for 2006 by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. Of the more than 600 young Americans honored since 1938, many TOYA honorees were recognized before the achievements for which they are now known: John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, Richard Cheney, Elvis Presley, Dan Quayle, Larry Holmes, Peyton Manning, and Bill Clinton. Dr. Hudson was also an international finalist for the Ten Outstanding Young Persons in the World in 2007. Most recently, Dr. Hudson was decorated under the authority of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and in the presence of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, KG GCVO as a Serving Brother in The Most Venerable Order of St. John. In this capacity, he recently travelled to Jerusalem for 5 weeks without pay to provide ophthalmic surgical services to those in need at the St. John Eye Hospital. In the summer of 2007, he travelled to Ghana and provided free surgery for indigents with advanced cataracts and vision loss. He was named Unite for Sight’s 2007 Volunteer of the Year, which he will receive in April 2008 before giving presentations at the Yale International Health Conference.

2008 elections
Hudson won the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in the 2008 congressional primary.

Committees
Hudson will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

Contact
www.stevehudson2008.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Maryland and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Maryland's 8th Congressional District
 * Official Hudson for Congress campaign website