Dr. Charles Edwards, a former top federal health official who headed the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in San Diego, has died.
The foundation, now called the Scripps Research Institute, says Edwards died on Aug. 7.
Edwards died at his La Jolla home after a lengthy illness according to our partners The La Jolla Light.
The son of a Nebraska country doctor, Edwards was appointed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1969. He was the nation's assistant secretary for health from 1973 to 1975 but resigned over budget cuts that he thought would hurt health care for the poor.
He headed Scripps from 1977 to 1993, guiding its expansion from a small private foundation to a major hospital network and nationally known research institute.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be sent to San Diego Hospice at www.sdhospice.org or Voices for Children San Diego www.speakupnow.org.
