One of the foremost physician authorities in the federal government’s Nursing Home Quality Initiative has been nominated to become the director of Rhode Island’s Health Department. Hearings for his confirmation have not yet been set.
Dr. David R. Gifford, the medical director of a nursing home and a nursing home management organization, said he will step down from his affiliations if he is confirmed as director, according to local reports. He has lectured widely and his work as the clinical leader of Rhode Island’s Quality Improvement Organization has been held up as a model for providers around the nation.
Gifford has been the medical director for St. Elizabeth Home, a nursing facility in Providence, since 1998. He also has been the director of quality improvement since 2001 for Carelink Inc., a Providence firm that provides management services for nursing homes and assisted living.
Last August Gifford helped conduct an internal review of the Rhode Island Health Department’s nursing home regulations. His “disclosure of potential conflicts of interest” was attached to the final report in September.
