Governor McKee announces transition support team for RIDOH

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – Governor Dan McKee’s office has announced a team appointed to help support the transition at the Rhode Island Department of Health as the search continues to replace Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott as director.

The following leaders have been appointed:

• James McDonald, MD, MPH- McDonald has served at RIDOH as Medical Director and as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline since 2021.
  Dr. McDonald will assume the day-to-day responsibilities of RIDOH Director while the search for a permanent candidate continues.
• Ana Novais- Novais has over 35 years of public health experience, and currently is serving as Assistant Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.  In this temporary assignment, Novais will be proving daily operational support to Dr. McDonald and the Department in areas such as policy, programming and legislative processes.

• Ernie Almonte- Almonte currently serves as Chief of Staff to Lt. Matos. Prior to that, he has over 40 years of experience as a business, government and process improvement specialist. In this temporary assignment, Almonte will provide managerial support on department finances, budgeting, and other fiscal operations.

• Chris Abhulime, DVM, MS, PMHNP-BC- Abhulime is currently the Deputy Chief of Staff to McKee. He is set to serve as the liaison between the advisors and the Governor’s office. In this temporary assignment, Abhulime will provide operational support to the Department.

“Our Administration has moved quickly to put an experienced leadership team in place at the Rhode Island Department of Health to ensure that our COVID-19 response remains strong,” said Governor Dan McKee.