Stepping aside
Longtime senator taking position with non-profit HARI
State Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed is stepping down for a job with Hospital Association of Rhode Island.
PROVIDENCE — Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Dist. 13, Newport and Jamestown, agreed on Wednesday that it had all happened “very fast” but offered no regrets over her decision to step down and take a post with the non-profit Hospital Association of Rhode Island (HARI).
A senator since 1992, Paiva Weed announced during the day that she would be leaving effective May 1 to become president of HARI, an organization assisting hospitals and healthcare organizations to meet the care needs of the state’s residents.
She will be leaving both her Senate leadership role as well as stepping down from her elected Senate seat.
Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-Dist. 4, Providence and North Providence, was listed as Paiva Weed’s expected replacement.
That news sparked plans for today’s caucus of Senate Democrats at 3:30 p.m. to select a new Senate Majority Leader with expected Senate consideration of the naming of the new Senate President by the full body to follow.
Paiva Weed was the first woman to serve as President of the Rhode Island Senate and was elected to that role by her fellow senators in 2011, 2013, 2015, and again this year as the session began.
In making her announcement, Paiva Weed said “it has been my absolute honor to serve with so many extraordinary people over the years, from my colleagues in the Senate to my talented staff. I could not have asked for a more dedicated, civicminded group of extraordinary people, all working to serve their constituents in the best possible manner,” Paiva Weed said. “I will forever be grateful for their support by re-electing me as their president over these many years, and could not be more proud of our collective accomplishments,” she said.
Later in the day, Paiva Weed said an outpouring of support from her colleagues was helping to ease her transition out of her leadership role to a new one outside of politics.
“I have to tell you without exception, it’s been a little overwhelming. Everybody has been happy for me,” she said at her office in Room 318 on the third floor of the Statehouse.
She was even greeted upstairs by Senate Republican and Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere, who teased her a bit about her decision and made her laugh before she returned to the business at hand.
“It’s been bittersweet. Certainly I will miss the friends that I’ve made, the staff and my colleagues. However, everybody has been so supportive and happy for me that it has been overwhelming,” she said.
Paiva Weed said the opportunity to join HARI “presented itself and intuitively it felt like the right time and the people that I hold close to me were supportive of me making this decision,” she said. “It’s all happened very quickly to be honest,” she added.
As for making the decision to leave, Paiva Weed offered that it wasn’t as difficult as it might seem given what she knew of the current state of the Senate.
“I felt that I was leaving behind a strong staff, leaving behind a strong leadership team and it was time,” she said.
Yes, there is always more to do, she admitted. “There is always a new project and certainly I hope things that I cared about, such as the substance abuse package before the Senate, are worked on and will continue to move forward. However, I feel that the leadership team in the Senate shares the same priorities that I did and that those issues will continue to be advocated for and continue to move forward,” Paiva Weed said. “I have complete confidence in the Senate.”
Her hospital association responsibilities will also bring a new focus and new goals to accomplish, according the Senate President.
“The hospitals have challenges, and there are certainly a lot of changes going on at the national level which are important,” she said. “The hospital association has a mission and a vision going forward of playing an important role in the changing health care world and I hope to bring to the knowledge and experience I have in health care policy to the hospitals,” she said.
“HARI is not simply a hospital association, it is a healthcare association and it’s a front that is continually changing and I look forward to the challenge, a new challenge,” Paiva Weed said.
Paiva Weed’s decision to join HARI was praised Dr. Christopher Lehrach, MD, chairman of the orga- nization’s board of trustees.
“The HARI Board of Trustees is proud to have Teresa Paiva Weed lead the organization,” Lehrach said in a statement on her intentions. “Teresa has spent more than two decades advocating for Rhode Islanders as a state senator. We believe her skills, insight and dedication to our state make her the ideal candidate as we work to ensure access to affordable, quality healthcare for all Rhode Islanders,” he said.
During her time as a legislator, Paiva Weed was a major developer of the RIte Care program, lead sponsor of legislation creating CurrentCare, and played a key role in several important public health bills including mental health, substance abuse, and lead poisoning. She is also an independent legal practitioner.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo joined others in praising Paiva Weed for her public service:
“Senate President Paiva Weed has dedicated her adult life to public service. Throughout her career, she has led the way to protect the most vulnerable people in our state and has taken strong stances to improve and protect social services. By rising to the top post in the Rhode Island Senate, she shattered a glass ceiling and has led her chamber with dignity, compassion and integrity for nearly a decade.”