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Larkin nominated as R.I. health director

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PBN Staff

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05/10/2024

DR. JEROME M. LARKIN, the current director of inpatient infectious diseases consultation services at Rhode Island Hospital, has been nominated to be the new director of the R.I. Department of Health, Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced Friday. / COURTESY GOV. MCKEE'S OFFICE

PROVIDENCE – Dr. Jerome M. Larkin, director of inpatient infectious diseases consultation services at Rhode Island Hospital, has been nominated to be the new director of the R.I. Department of Health, Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced Friday. If confirmed by the Senate, Larkin will be Rhode Island’s first permanent health director since January 2022. “Dr.

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PROVIDENCE – Dr. Jerome M. Larkin, director of inpatient infectious diseases consultation services at Rhode Island Hospital, has been nominated to be the new director of the R.I. Department of Health, Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced Friday. If confirmed by the Senate, Larkin will be Rhode Island’s first permanent health director since January 2022. “Dr. Larkin is a proven leader in the medical field and his experience will be a vital asset to our team and to the people of Rhode Island,” McKee said in a statement. “Improving health outcomes for all Rhode Islanders is a top priority for our administration and I’m confident that Dr. Larkin will help us reach that goal.” Larkin has more than 30 years of experience in heath care, according to the governor's office. He works as an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and has received numerous teaching awards during his time there. Larkin received his medical degree from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed his undergraduate degree at Boston College. “Dr. Larkin has the experience to lead the dedicated team at the Rhode Island Department of Health as we work to address the critical public health needs of our state,” R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest said in a statement. “From health care system planning and addressing the opioid crisis, there are several interagency initiatives in which I look forward to having Dr. Larkin’s expertise at the table.” Larkin will succeed Dr. Staci Fischer, who was named interim director of the R.I. Department of Health on March 28 when Dr. Utpala Bandy retired from state service on March 31. Bandy was named interim director in July 2022 when Dr. James McDonald stepped down. McDonald at the time 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 without explanation as the state health’s department chief. 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.