As interim state health director Dr. Utpala Bandy prepares to retire, Gov. Dan McKee has appointed her replacement. Dr. Staci Fischer will take over the Rhode Island Department of Health as acting director, according to an email from Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for the governor.
Fischer is currently the chief administrative officer for the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and has a salary of $207,000, compared to the $175,000 salary of the health director position. However, McKee has proposed a $250,000 salary effective in April to make the position more attractive to potential candidates.
Fischer has been working with the health department since July 2023 and also serves as one of the state’s medical directors. She has experience overseeing training for medical residents and fellows and previously practiced at Rhode Island Hospital for 15 years. Her resume includes positions as the director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Program at Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and with Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education. Fischer graduated from Tulane University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and completed her doctorate in medicine at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.
Bandy gave notice in January that she would resign from state office effective March 29 after serving as interim health director since June 23rd last year. The search for a permanent health director is ongoing, with the state in its final stages of hiring process according to DaRocha