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Fischer named acting director of R.I. Department of Health

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PBN Staff

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03/28/2024

healthchief — DR. STACI FISCHER, the current chief administrative officer of the R.I. Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, has been named acting director of the R.I. Department of Health, Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced Thursday. / COURTESY OFFICE OF GOV. DANIEL J. MCKEE

PROVIDENCE – Dr. Staci Fischer, the current chief administrative officer of the R.I. Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, on Thursday was named acting director of the R.I. Department of Health by Gov. Daniel J. McKee. Fischer will succeed Dr. Utpala Bandy, who in January announced she was retiring from state service on March 31.

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PROVIDENCE – Dr. Staci Fischer, the current chief administrative officer of the R.I. Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, on Thursday was named acting director of the R.I. Department of Health by Gov. Daniel J. McKee. Fischer will succeed Dr. Utpala Bandy, who in January announced she was retiring from state service on March 31. The state has been without a permanent health director since January 2022. Bandy was named interim director in July 2022 when Dr. James McDonald said he was stepping down. McDonald cited “family circumstances" that required him to move out of Rhode Island, including his mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and his son’s challenges living with autism. McDonald was named interim leader in January 2022, after Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott resigned as the state health’s department chief without giving an explanation. McKee spokesperson Olivia DaRocha said Thursday the administration is in the final stages of the hiring process for a permanent health director. In his fiscal 2025 budget, McKee proposed a 43% pay increase for the state health department director, from $175,383 to $250,000, the largest bump among his cabinet. McKee also called for exempting the RIDOH director's salary from the annual public hearing and legislative review process that sets department director pay. Fischer, who has been with RIDOH since 2003, also serves as one of the department’s medical directors. She previously practiced at Rhode Island Hospital for 15 years and has vast experience in health care quality and safety and academic medicine. During her time there she oversaw the training of medical residents and fellows in a prior capacity as the director of Graduate Medical Education. She was also the director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Program at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. Fischer also held positions with the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education and is board-certified in infectious diseases.