Concepción Quiñones de Longo is a Puerto Rican pediatrician and government official. She was the interim
Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico ( es, Secretario de Salud de Puerto Rico) leads the Department of Health of Puerto Rico and all efforts related to health in Puerto Rico.
Secretaries
* 1977–1984: Jaime Rivera Dueño
* 1985&ndash ...
in March 2020 and had previously served as the
undersecretary
Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is ...
of
Rafael Rodríguez Mercado
Rafael Rodríguez Mercado is a Puerto Rican neurosurgeon and military officer. He was the Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico from 2017 until his resignation in 2020. Rodríguez Mercado previously served as chancellor of the University of Puerto ...
. Quiñones de Longo is a former faculty member of the
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
The University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, School of Medicine is located in the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It's the only medical school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...
.
Education
Quiñones de Longo completed a bachelor's degree in premedical studies at the
Interamerican University of Puerto Rico
The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has ...
. She completed a doctor of medicine at the
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
The University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, School of Medicine is located in the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It's the only medical school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...
. She completed a
residency
Residency may refer to:
* Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place
** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship
* Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...
in pediatrics at the University District Hospital in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
.
Career
Starting in 1973, Quiñones de Longo worked as a pediatrician instructor at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She was a faculty member at the school of medicine and the University Pediatric Hospital for 36 years.
In the 1980s, Quiñones de Longo assisted the
Puerto Rico Department of Health
The Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH) is one of the Cabinet-level agencies directly created by Article 4, Section 6 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. It is headed by a Secretary of Health, appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico
...
with pediatric centers for children with
special needs
In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...
and
hospital accreditation. From 2008 to 2012, she served as the
undersecretary
Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is ...
to the
Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico ( es, Secretario de Salud de Puerto Rico) leads the Department of Health of Puerto Rico and all efforts related to health in Puerto Rico.
Secretaries
* 1977–1984: Jaime Rivera Dueño
* 1985&ndash ...
.
While serving as undersecretary in 2020, Quiñones de Longo reported Department irregularities to Secretary
Rafael Rodríguez Mercado
Rafael Rodríguez Mercado is a Puerto Rican neurosurgeon and military officer. He was the Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico from 2017 until his resignation in 2020. Rodríguez Mercado previously served as chancellor of the University of Puerto ...
. Following Rodríguez Mercado's resignation on March 13, 2020, she served as the interim Secretary of Health for two weeks before resigning on March 26, 2020. Quiñones de Longo was succeeded by
Lorenzo González Feliciano. She expressed concerns about how contracts for
COVID-19 tests
COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral p ...
were awarded. In April 2020, Quiñones de Longo was questioned by the
House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Sen ...
where she stated that Marisol Blasco, an assistant to the Governor, and the
Chief of Staff of Puerto Rico,
Antonio Pabón
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...
, both called her to request that she quickly sign a contract.
Personal life
From 1971 to 1973, Quiñones de Longo resided in the
contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawai ...
before returning to Puerto Rico.
She is the mother of lawyer and government official
Dennise Longo Quiñones
Dennise Noemí Longo Quiñones is a Puerto Rican lawyer and government official serving as the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico. Longo Quiñones was previously a United States Attorney and assistant federal prosecutor. She was a special as ...
.
See also
*
COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico
The COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pand ...
*
Women in medicine
The presence of women in medicine, particularly in the practicing fields of surgery and as physicians, has been traced to the earliest of history. Women have historically had lower participation levels in medical fields compared to men with occ ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiñones de Longo, Concepción
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine alumni
University of Puerto Rico faculty
Puerto Rican pediatricians
Puerto Rican women physicians
20th-century American physicians
21st-century American physicians
Women pediatricians
Secretaries of Health of Puerto Rico
Women government officials
Caribbean women physicians
20th-century American women
American women academics
21st-century American women
New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians