Dr. Jerome Larkin was praised by a series of fellow physicians and other acquaintances Thursday before being endorsed by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee as the next director of the Rhode Island Department of Health.
The committee approved Larkin’s nomination on a 5-to-1 vote, with Sen. Eileen Morgan (R-Hopkinton) casting the only one in opposition.
“I know him to be smart, thoughtful and an individual of the utmost integrity,” said Dr. Louis B. Rice, chair of the Department of Medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine and the physician-in-chief at Rhode Island and Miriam hospitals. “He has a strong sense of community commitment and, given his long-term work on the Tiverton School Board, he is no stranger to political discussion.”
Larkin, 61, serves as medical director of inpatient infectious diseases consultation services at Rhode Island Hospital and an associate professor of clinical medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School. He is board certified in internal medicine, infectious diseases and general pediatrics.
Gov. Dan McKee announced on May 10 that he would nominate Larkin to the post. The Department of Health has been without a permanent director since Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott departed more than two years ago.
The director is responsible for leading health and safety practices, from food safety in restaurants and grocery stores to medical standards in hospitals, health centers and doctor’s offices. The director is also at the center of responding to a public health emergency like the COVID pandemic.
Friends and peers of Larkin said he is the right person for the job, both in temperament and professional qualifications. In testimony and written statements, they called him humble and someone who is trained in primary care adult medicine, pediatrics and infectious diseases.
“But most importantly, he recognizes that the director oversees a broad territory of issues and he has made it very clear that he will seek to listen to those with expertise beyond his and the community,” said Dr. Peter Hollmann, chief medical officer for Brown Physicians.
Dr. Anais Ovalle, an infectious disease specialist at Kent Hospital, said Larkin is “able to engage individuals wherever they are on the journey to improve themselves and others, which is crucial in the public health world. He possesses foresight and I feel like he is equipped to address emerging health challenges.”
In the face of such praise, Larkin joked that it felt like he was at his own wake.
But he also cited the value of serving on the Tiverton School Committee, the last seven years as chairman.
“I am the veteran of 12 hard-fought budget seasons,” Larkin said. “Some have been scorched earth, some have been merely trench warfare. I believe if you can understand the budget of a small-to-medium-sized school district, you have a better than even chance of understanding the budget of the Pentagon.”
Larkin told The Public’s Radio that McKee has budgeted to pay the DOH director an annual salary of $250,000.
Morgan cast her vote against Larkin after questioning him about the state’s approach to the pandemic. He said he supported the decision to encourage masking and would do so again in similar circumstances.
Asked about the shortage of primary care physicians in Rhode Island, he agreed it is a problem, but said that correcting an imbalance in healthcare reimbursement rates compared with those in Massachusetts and Connecticut requires mostly federal action.
The full state Senate is scheduled to vote on Larkin’s nomination Tuesday.
