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May 7, 2008
Carcieri shifts MHRH director to new advisory post
Governor Carcieri has removed Ellen R. Nelson as director of the state Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals, and appointed her his special adviser on hospital acquisitions and mergers, a newly created position that the governor described as temporary.
Meanwhile, Carcieri does not intend to replace Nelson at MHRH. Instead, division heads will report to the deputy secretary of health and human services, Adelita Orefice.
Nelson is leaving her post to advise Carcieri on an issue over which he has no statutory authority. The director of health and the attorney general decide whether to allow hospital mergers, and have staff devoted to handling the expected proposal to merge the Lifespan and Care New England hospital groups, which has not yet been filed.
The change in Nelson's position was announced by the governor's office today.
Asked why the governor needed an adviser on hospital mergers, his spokesman, Jeff Neal, said: “The governor is still the head of state. He is the head of government. He is going to have an important voice in the debate about these potential hospital mergers.”
Neal said Carcieri wanted someone outside the formal regulatory process to examine the big policy issues.
Both Neal and Nelson said there had been no disagreement between Carcieri and Nelson, who took the helm at MHRH in 2006. Nelson said that the idea for the change came from the governor.
-- Journal staff writer Felice F. Freyer
With 1,600 employees and a budget of almost $500 million, MHRH is one of the largest and most complex state departments, overseeing the only state-run hospital and the state’s mental health and developmental disabilities programs.
When Nelson leaves, which she said would happen probably by Monday, Craig Stenning will move from the Department of Human Services to take charge of developmental disabilities and behavioral health. John Young, currently the Medicaid director, will oversee the Eleanor Slater Hospital.
Orefice said that Nelson’s departure provided the opportunity to reexamine the programs at MHRH, along with those at the four other state agencies involved with human services. Her office is looking at consolidating administrative functions and reorganizing services for better efficiencies at those agencies, she said.
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at 3:02 PM | Permalink
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Well, another one bites the dust. Everyone in the community knows that Nelson has been less than a shining star for Carcieri and has been one of the most difficult directors to work with. We all know that a temp position in another area of government is the way of saying bye, bye and thankfully so.