New Rhode Island Health Director Set to Boost Department’s Salary Structure with $250,000 Salary Offer

On the eve of her retirement, interim state health director Dr. Utpala Bandy has been replaced by Dr. Staci Fischer as acting director for the Rhode Island Department of Health. This was announced in an email Thursday afternoon by Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for Governor Dan McKee.

Fischer, who currently serves as the chief administrative officer for the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, will take on this new role with a salary of $207,000 per year, according to the state payroll database. This is higher than the $175,000 salary offered to previous health directors. 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 Rhode Island’s medical directors. She has over 15 years of experience practicing medicine and has previously overseen training for medical residents and fellows at Rhode Island Hospital. Her resume includes positions as director of Infectious Disease Fellowship Program at Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and with Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). 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 before joining Rhode Island Hospital where she practiced for nearly two decades before being appointed to serve as chief administrative officer for RI Board of Medical Licensure & Discipline