After several years of turmoil, state hospital has a new chief medical officer
PROVIDENCE — The state agency that runs the Eleanor Slater Hospital — which cares for some of the state's most vulnerable people — has a new chief medical officer after a bumpy couple of years that saw a parade of CMOs come and go.
Richard Charest, the director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, announced on Tuesday that Katharine Woods, who had been the chief medical officer of the Arizona State Hospital, has been hired to fill that role in Rhode Island.
Among her other titles: assistant deputy director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, and before that she was medical director for hospital psychiatry and director of neurotherapeutics at Banner-University Medical Center’s South Campus, in Tucson, Arizona.
More: Neronha investigates, rings alarm bells about patient care at state hospital
New appointment follows turmoil with the hospital and department
Woods started her new job on Monday, taking over from Dr. Sue Ferranti, who had been serving as interim chief medical officer since the abrupt departure of Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, less than a year after taking the job.
McCance-Katz returned to the hospital – that she left for a top mental-health post in Trump-era Washington – at a time of turmoil that saw her predecessor (Dr. Brian Daly) quit and the CEO suspended without pay before quitting.
And she is leaving at a point the hospital – with about 200 patients across two campuses in Cranston and Burrillville – is under investigation by the Rhode Island attorney general and Disability Rights Rhode Island, an independent, federally mandated "protection and advocacy system for the state of Rhode Island."
Woods is a graduate of Harvard University, the University of Southern California, and the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut and is Board Certified in Psychiatry.
“I am pleased to announce that Dr. Woods has accepted the position of Chief Medical Officer,” Charest said. “She brings a great deal of experience and knowledge to this role and she understands the needs of our patients at Eleanor Slater Hospital, as well as the needs of individuals who receive services that are supported by BHDDH.”
"In addition to her experience as a physician, Dr. Woods also has extensive teaching experience, including seven years as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona," according to the BHDDH announcement.
The Arizona State Hospital had its own share of controversy, amid legislative calls for reform.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: New chief medical officer for Eleanor Slater Hospital announced
