Providence, RI – Governor Lincoln D. Chafee announced today his selection of Michael Fine, MD as the recommended candidate for the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health.
“Dr. Fine brings to this position more than 25 years of experience as a primary care physician, and has been a strong advocate for healthcare reform and for underserved populations,” Governor Chafee said. “Dr. Fine is recognized at a national level for his research on healthcare delivery systems. As the Department of Health enters into a new era of integrating healthcare and public health, Dr. Fine’s background and experience will be of tremendous value to the state.”
Fine will replace Dr. David R. Gifford, who resigned as Director of Health in February. Fine has served as Interim Director since Dr. Gifford’s resignation.
“In the short time that I have been serving as Interim Director of Health, I have come to realize that one of the Department’s greatest strengths is the dedicated staff that works there,” said Fine. “It will be a privilege to continue to work with this team of professionals to strengthen and streamline Rhode Island’s healthcare delivery system.”
“Dr. Fine has proven in his short time at Health that he has the skills, experience, and expertise required to perform this job with excellence,” said Executive Office of Health and Human Services (OHHS) Secretary Steven M. Costantino
Fine has most recently served as Medical Program Director at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. He is a family physician and was Managing Director of HealthAccessRI, the nation’s first statewide organization making prepaid, reduced fee primary care available to people without employee-sponsored health insurance. He served as Physician-in-Chief of the Rhode Island and Miriam Hospitals Department of Family and Community Medicine. In addition, Fine is a Past President of the Rhode Island Academy of Family Physicians and was an Open Society Institute/George Soros Fellow in Medicine as a Profession from 2000 to 2002.
Fine is a graduate of Haverford College and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He completed his residency with the Brown University Program in Family Medicine at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island in Pawtucket.