BOSTON (AP) – A key player in Massachusetts’ response to the coronavirus pandemic announced that she is stepping down.
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services in a statement Thursday announced that Dr. Monica Bharel is resigning effective June 18 as commissioner of the Department of Public Health. No reason was given and Bharel only said it was time to start a new chapter in her life.
Bharel is a primary care physician appointed by Governor Charlie Baker in February 2015. During that time she has overseen the state’s response to several public health crises, including the opioid epidemic, vaping-associated lung disease, and mosquito-borne illness like eastern equine encephalitis.
From The Associated Press
About Brendan Fitzpatrick
