Dr. James McDonald leaving as interim director of RI Department of Health
PROVIDENCE – Interim state Health Department Director Dr. James McDonald will resign on July 29 in order to help with the health needs of his family, including his mother and two sons, McDonald disclosed in a letter to Gov. Dan McKee on Thursday.
In an interview with The Journal Thursday afternoon, McDonald said that while he will remain in state service until July 29, his day-to-day responsibilities will end June 25, when he, his wife and their three children begin moving to upstate New York, where his parents and brothers live and where he grew up.
“My family life has changed significantly since we spoke about me being interim director in January of 2022. These changes have compelled me to spend substantial time in thought, prayer and painful deliberation,” McDonald wrote in his letter to McKee.
McDonald succeeded Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, who left office early this year without disclosing her reasons. Alexander-Scott served as a consultant to the state until Tuesday and has since become a senior executive consultant for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
More: Former Health Department chief Alexander-Scott speaks at Brown University
More: Gov. McKee appoints interim state health director while RI searches for Alexander-Scott replacement
A mother with Alzheimer's, sons on the spectrum
“As with many Rhode Islanders, I have a family member who suffers from Alzheimer’s, specifically my mom,” McDonald wrote in his letter to the governor. “She raised six successful sons, owned a business for over 50 years and was a vibrant community leader. At this point in her disease, she still knows who I am, and is still happy to see me and my family, yet I am not certain how long this will be the case.”
McDonald wrote that his father, “the ever-faithful support during all of our lives, is challenged at age 91 to help my mom and maintain his health. It is evident to me; they need more help, help we can and should give them.”
Regarding his children, McDonald wrote that he has reflected on “my sons who have very different forms of autism, I see more and more the need for them to be surrounded by extended family. Autism is a complex syndrome, and in addition to the communication and socialization challenges, it can be very lonely and isolating. Extended family and the love and support they give can be a very effective therapeutic and long-term option that my sons desperately need.”
'Space to think'
During his interview with The Journal, McDonald said that the easing of the pandemic this spring gave him “the space to think a little bit… And I kind of had this sense that what I needed to do in Rhode Island I had done and I also the sense that it was time for me to look at: What are my priorities in life?”
His conclusion: “I really should prioritize family over work and my career.”
McDonald said he has sold his house in Rhode Island and bought a house in Latham, New York, north of Albany, a hamlet he said is near where his parents, Barbara and John McDonald, and brothers live.
A recent visit with his parents reaffirmed his decision to leave Rhode Island, McDonald said.
“When I was visiting this weekend, it really had a profound impact on me,” McDonald said. His mother was completing a 12-pice jigsaw puzzle and “with a little coaching” was able to finish it – and when she did, “she was clapping with joy like a four-year-old. That was great for me to see, but hard, too, because this is a brilliant woman,” someone who graduated college when fewer women than today did and who went on to become a noted pharmacist.
“I don't want to miss these last months of her life,” McDonald said. “I want to be around because once it's gone, it's gone and I do not want to live with regret… I want to honor my mom and dad towards the end of their life and I really feel like that's going to be something that is just as important for me as for my wife and my kids,” all of whom, he said, are in agreement with the decision to move.
In a news release accompanying McDonald’s letter, McKee wrote that McDonald “has provided steady leadership to our state and great counsel to me as we continued our work to manage COVID-19. Rhode Islanders have come to know, love and trust Dr. McDonald for his easy-to-understand explanations and simple tips. Thanks to Dr. McDonald and his team, we know we have the tools to keep ourselves and our families safe. I thank Dr. McDonald for stepping up and taking on this interim position. We will be keeping his family in our thoughts.”
Asked who will succeed McDonald until a permanent successor to Alexander-Scott is found, a Health Department spokeswoman deferred the question to McKee's office, which did not immediately return a request for comment.
Alexander-Scott and McDonald are not the only two Health Department leaders to leave this year. Tom McCarthy, the state's COVID-response czar, resigned in January.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Dr. McDonald, interim director of RI Department of Health is leaving
