Gupta out of running for nation’s top doctor

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, is no longer in the running for U.S. surgeon general, CNN said Thursday.

Gupta, an Atlanta neurosurgeon who also works at Grady Memorial Hospital, withdrew his name from consideration because he wants to pursue his medical work and his media career, officials said.

“He also wants to spend more time with his family; his wife is expecting another child right now,” CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said on the air Thursday.

The White House confirmed Thursday that Gupta is no longer a candidate.

Gupta’s potential appointment to the post of the “nation’s doctor” created a stir when it was announced in early January. While some critics said he was an unqualified celebrity, others praised his medical knowledge and communication skills.

Gupta is an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and serves as a neurosurgeon at Emory University Hospital.

He is also associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady.

Some news commentators and the blogosphere jumped on the possibility that a doctor with such celebrity could be the next surgeon general. At the same time, national medical experts praised Gupta’s credentials as a doctor and communicator.

Atlanta health care officials had hoped Gupta could draw attention to local health care issues such as the financial struggles of large public hospitals like Grady.

Another prominent Atlantan has been mentioned in some circles as a possible candidate: Dr. Helene Gayle —- president and CEO of CARE and a former executive at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gayle has not said if she would consider the appointment.