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| 陳倩(右)將出任麻州老人事務署署長。旁為轄區包括 勒星頓鎮的麻州參議員，當年與兄姊一起贊助陳倩 全家從台灣移民來美的陳毓禮。(周菊子攝) |
(Boston
Orange 周菊子波士頓報導) 麻州政府將於今年六月再添一名華裔首長。曾任全美歷史最悠久驗光學院院長的陳倩，訂6月3日正式上任麻州耆英事務署署長(Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive
Office of Elder Affairs)。
麻州耆英事務署(Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs)日前宣佈了這一訊息。在該聲明中，麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)表示，他統領的麻州政府對老年有不同看法，致力推廣老年人要有更好的生活品質。相信陳倩能在前任署長Alice
Bonner所打造的基礎上，以她的專業，能力，讓麻州繼續作為一個對年齡友好的州。麻州副州長白莉朵(Karyn
Polito)也說，麻州近年來在耆英關注的在社區內養老，防制凌虐等議題上，有很大進步，他們很期待能和陳倩攜手繼續努力。
陳倩目前在麻州政府內擔任公共衛生署助理署長，為尋求緊急和長期護理服務的麻州居民們負責安全及醫療護理品質。她在任內監管30萬名醫療護理專業人士的執照，以及4500個固定或流動的提共護理設置。此外，她還領導旨在促進提供醫療服務系統轉型，在重大轉變情況下，改善公共醫療價值的”判定需求項目”，承辦諸如合併，所有權轉移，以及重大資本投資。
在這之前，陳倩曾經擔任新英格蘭驗光學院，以及新英格蘭眼睛學院的校長及董事。她也曾經是生物科技公司Circe生物醫藥，以及馬拉松生物製藥公司的董事長及執行長。學術上，她專注的領域是面對晚期慢性疾病時的提前護理計畫。
麻州健康及人類服務長Marylou Sudders負責監管耆英事務署(EOEA)。她表示，陳倩是一個有30多年經驗，在公私領域都受人尊重的領導者，將會在服務與保護耆英居民上，提升麻州的領導力。她指出，麻州居民人數，60歲以上的比20歲以下的多。他們必須特意努力，幫助耆英們在他們所居住，工作的地方添壽，興旺。她還感謝Robin
Lipson在過度期間擔任代理署長。
麻州耆英事務署表示，查理貝克、白莉朵政府從2015年以來，在照顧耆英上有不少成就，包括成立了第一個州長級的解決耆英問題麻州評議會。該會最近發表了一份附建議的如何在麻州推廣健康添壽全面藍圖，致力推動對年齡友善行動，使得麻州成為全美第二個加入AARP對年齡友善之州網絡，並從2015年起，每年增加EOEA的預算，還把老人評議會的經費提到有史以來最高點，簽署了地標性法案，要改善患癡呆症者得到的照顧，培訓那些照顧他們的人。
陳倩畢業於耶魯大學，獲有賓州大學華頓商學院的企管碩士學位，哈佛大學的公衛政策碩士學位。2012年時，她進了麻州大學McCormack政策及全球研究學院的研究所，全時攻讀博士，3年半就完成學業。目前她和家人住在麻州勒星頓鎮。
BOSTON — Elizabeth Chen, PhD, MBA, MPH has
been named Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs
(EOEA) effective June 3, 2019. EOEA promotes independence, empowerment,
and well-being of older people, individuals with disabilities, and their
families in every community in the Commonwealth.
“Our administration is focused on thinking
differently about aging and we are committed to supporting Massachusetts’ older
adults by promoting a greater quality of life for them,” said Governor
Charlie Baker.“We welcome the expertise and knowledge that Dr. Chen will
bring to Elder Affairs as the new Secretary and look forward to the hard work
she will do to build on the progress achieved under former Secretary Alice
Bonner that made Massachusetts an age friendly state.”
“Massachusetts has made significant progress
in recent years on issues important to older adults like abuse prevention and
aging in the community,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We
look forward to working alongside Dr. Chen and her team to continue changing
lives in the Commonwealth and leading on important elder issues nationally.”
Dr. Chen currently serves as an Assistant
Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) where she
is responsible for the safety and quality of health care for residents of the
Commonwealth seeking services in acute and long-term care settings. At DPH, she
oversees the licensing of over 300,000 health care professionals and over 4,500
fixed and mobile care delivery settings. Additionally, she leads the
Determination of Need Program, which goals are to advance health care delivery
system transformation and improve public health value in circumstances of
significant change, such as mergers, transfers of ownership, and substantial
capital investment.
Prior to DPH, Dr. Chen served as President and
Trustee of the New England College of Optometry and New England Eye
Institute. She has also served as President and CEO of biotech companies,
Circe Biomedical and Marathon Biopharmaceuticals. Her academic work focuses on
advance care planning when facing late-stage chronic illness.
“Dr. Chen is a respected leader with over 30
years of experience in the public and private sectors and will help advance
Massachusetts’ leadership in providing services, protection and support to our
older residents,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou
Sudders, who oversees EOEA. “Massachusetts has more residents over the
age of 60 than under the age of 20. We must be intentional in our efforts
to support older adults and in helping them age and thrive in the places where
they live and work. I am grateful to Robin Lipson who has served as
Interim Secretary with grace and skill.”
The Baker-Polito Administration has achieved
significant progress for older adults since 2015, including: establishing the
first gubernatorial Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts,
which recently released a comprehensive blueprint with recommendations on
how to promote healthy aging in the Commonwealth; committing the Commonwealth
to the Age-Friendly movement, which made Massachusetts only the second state to
join AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States; increasing
the EOEA budget every year since 2015; increasing state funding to Councils on
Aging to the highest level ever; investing and improving the Protective
Services program and funded it at the highest level ever;
signing landmark legislation that will
improve care for people with dementia; and, training for those who care
for them.
“I am honored and thrilled to have this
opportunity to lead EOEA and to help further Governor Baker’s goal to make the
Commonwealth the most age-friendly state in the nation,” said Elizabeth
Chen, PhD, MBA, MPH.
Dr. Chen has a BA from Yale University; an MBA
from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School; and, an MPH from Harvard
University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In 2012, she pursued
a PhD in Gerontology full-time from the University of Massachusetts’ McCormack
Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, and completed its requirements in
3.5 years. Dr. Chen and her family live in Lexington, Massachusetts.
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