# Rhode Island Department of Health > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rhode_Island_Department_of_Health > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rhode_Island_Department_of_Health.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_Department_of_Health > Source revision: 1353221519 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Rhode Island Department of Health" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Rhode Island Department of Health Agency overview Formed 1935; 91 years ago (1935) Preceding agency Rhode Island State Board of Health[1] Type State health agency Jurisdiction Rhode Island Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island Motto "A better state of healthy"[2] Employees ~566[3] Annual budget $ 373,353,530 Agency executives Jerome Larkin, Director Christine Goulette, Chief Operations Officer Cheryl Leclair, Office of Policy Zachary Garceau, Office of Health Regulation Website health.ri.gov The **Rhode Island [Department of Health](/source/Health_departments_in_the_United_States)** (**RIDOH**) is the [state health agency](/source/State_health_agency) in the [State of Rhode Island](/source/Rhode_Island). The agency oversees [public health](/source/Public_health), [medical licensing](/source/Medical_license), and retains medical and data records in Rhode Island.[4] As of May 2024, the Director of the Department of Health is Dr. Jerome Larkin. The position was previously held by various acting directors following the resignation of [Nicole Alexander-Scott](/source/Nicole_Alexander-Scott) in January 2022.[5][6] ## Mission, Vision, and Values The Rhode Island Department of Health has the mission is to, "Prevent disease and protect and promote the health and safety of Rhode Islanders." As well as holding the vision for "safe and healthy lives in safe and healthy communities."[5] ## Divisions and Centers The Rhode Island Department of Health coordinates statewide [public health](/source/Public_health) activities across the state. All programs and services are coordinated by Divisions and Centers. - **Central Management** is divided into three programs: Executive Functions, Management Services, and Emergency Preparedness and Response. Executive Functions is headed by the Director of Health and oversees all Department-sponsored activities. Management Services oversees the Department budget and provides support to manage programs. Emergency Preparedness and Response plans, assesses, educates, and supports the community during [disasters](/source/Disasters) or [emergencies](/source/Emergencies). - **The Office of State Medical Examiners** investigates causes of death that may endanger the [community](/source/Community) and uses this information to keep the public aware and safe. - **Environmental and Health Services Regulation** licenses and regulates health professionals and monitors [beach](/source/Beach) and [drinking water](/source/Drinking_water) quality. - **The State Laboratories** support [scientific research](/source/Scientific_research) to detect [diseases](/source/Diseases), protect the public from [terrorism](/source/Terrorism) threats health and use health evidence in crime investigations. - [Rhode Island Division of State Laboratories](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhode_Island_Division_of_State_Laboratories&action=edit&redlink=1) - [Rhode Island State Health Laboratory](/source/Rhode_Island_State_Health_Laboratory) - [Rhode Island Center for Biological Sciences](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhode_Island_Center_for_Biological_Sciences&action=edit&redlink=1) - [Rhode Island Center for Clinical Toxicology and Laboratory Support](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhode_Island_Center_for_Clinical_Toxicology_and_Laboratory_Support&action=edit&redlink=1) - [Rhode Island Center for Environmental Sciences](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhode_Island_Center_for_Environmental_Sciences&action=edit&redlink=1) - [Rhode Island Center for Forensic Sciences](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhode_Island_Center_for_Forensic_Sciences&action=edit&redlink=1) - [Rhode Island Office of the State Medical Examiners](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhode_Island_Office_of_the_State_Medical_Examiners&action=edit&redlink=1) - **Public Health Information** provides information for the public to understand health [risks](/source/Risks) and make [healthy](/source/Healthy) and safe choices. - **Community and Family Health and Equity** develops programs to eliminate [health disparities](/source/Health_disparities) by ensuring equal access, creating partnerships with the community and [healthcare](/source/Healthcare) facilities, promoting healthy [lifestyles](/source/Lifestyle_(sociology)), and educating [citizens](/source/Citizens) on public health issues. - **Infectious Disease and Epidemiology** conducts disease surveillance, responds to outbreaks, and provides health [education](/source/Education). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Rhode Island State Board of Health](https://health.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur1006/files/publications/papers/GovernmentOfHealthTheFormationOfTheRIStateBoardOfHealth.pdf) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Better State of Health | Department of Health"](https://health.ri.gov/better-state-of-health). *health.ri.gov*. Retrieved May 8, 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Amore, Gregg M. ["Secretary of State"](https://opengov.sos.ri.gov/OpenMeetingsPublic/GovDirectory?subtopmenuId=202&EntityID=1401). *RI Department of State*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["About RIDOH | Department of Health"](https://health.ri.gov/about-us). *health.ri.gov*. Retrieved May 8, 2026. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ri.gov_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ri.gov_5-1) ["About Us: Department of Health"](http://www.health.ri.gov/about/). *www.health.ri.gov*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Castro, Alexander (May 22, 2024). ["R.I. Senate confirms Dr. Jerome Larkin for permanent post at Rhode Island Department of Health • Rhode Island Current"](https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2024/05/21/r-i-senate-confirms-dr-jerome-larkin-for-permanent-post-at-rhode-island-department-of-health/). *Rhode Island Current*. Retrieved September 7, 2025. ## External links - [Guide to the Department of Health Library records](https://sosri.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_303e7df4-467e-4c6d-bdaa-8f08cc20862e/) from the Rhode Island State Archives - [1986-1987 Department of Health Division of Drug Control annual report](https://sosri.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/digitalFile_7e79fe70-0d87-432d-8fef-4d9ac71cdbe4/) from the Rhode Island State Archives Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF National United States Other Yale LUX v t e Health departments in the United States States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Federal district District of Columbia Insular areas American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands Freely Associated States Federated States of Micronesia Republic of the Marshall Islands Republic of Palau This Rhode Island–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:RhodeIsland-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3ARhodeIsland-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:RhodeIsland-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rhode Island Department of Health](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_Department_of_Health) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_Department_of_Health?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.