McKee names panel to help pick next health director; here's who's on it

Gov. Dan McKee has named a panel of local health-care professionals to help him select both an interim and a permanent director of the Rhode Island Department of Health.

The announcement comes on the heels of the news that Deputy Director Thomas J. McCarthy has also submitted his resignation. McCarthy's boss, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, announced her resignation last week.

Under state law, the new health director must be "a physician graduated by an acceptable medical college."

The person must also have at least one year of graduate-level instruction in public health, "as evidenced by a certificate of graduation or a degree in public health," or board certification in a medical specialty, and at least five years' full-time experience in health administration.

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Here's who will be advising McKee as he picks Alexander-Scott's replacement:

• Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency medicine doctor and Brown University professor who's developed a national profile during the coronavirus pandemic. Ranney is the founding director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health and academic dean at Brown's School of Public Health.

• Dr. John A. Stoukides, vice chairman for the Department of Medicine and chief of the geriatrics and palliative medicine division at Roger Williams Medical Center. He also serves as medical director of utilization management for CharterCARE Health Partners and has been overseeing the COVID vaccination program at CharterCARE hospitals.

• Dr. Bradley J. Collins, the president of the Rhode Island Chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine. Collins is a professor at Brown's medical school and works as an internist and hospitalist at Miriam Hospital.

• Dr. Kristina Duarte, a family physician at Providence Community Health Centers. She is also a clinical assistant professor of family medicine at Brown.

• Dr. Abdul Saied Calvino, who is board-certified in general surgery and surgical Oncology. "Besides his clinical practice, he has established an active community outreach and cancer navigation program to improve access to surgical care in underserved populations," and has received numerous awards for that work, McKee's office said.

• Dr. Heather A. Smith, an obstetrician and gynecologist who is current president of the American Medical Association Foundation. She serves director of quality for the emergency department at Women & Infants Hospital in addition to teaching at Brown.

• Chris Abhulime, McKee's deputy chief of staff. Abhulime has a doctor of veterinary medicine degree and a master's degree in laboratory science, and is "an accomplished clinical/biopharmaceutical scientist" with more than 15 years of experience, according to McKee's office. He will serve as a liaison between the advisory panel and McKee.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: McKee names panel to help pick Alexander-Scott's replacement