After completing her training in pediatrics and psychiatry at New York City's
Mount Sinai Hospital, Levine moved from Manhattan to central Pennsylvania in 1993 where she joined the faculty of the
Penn State College of Medicine and the staff at
Penn State Hershey Medical Center.[14] During her tenure, she created Penn State Hershey Medical Center's Division of Adolescent Medicine and the Penn State Hershey Eating Disorders Program. She was in charge of the latter when she was nominated for the position of Pennsylvania physician general in 2015.[14]
Pennsylvania Department of Health
In 2015, Levine was nominated by Pennsylvania Governor-elect
Tom Wolf to serve as Pennsylvania's physician general. In one of her most lauded actions as physician general, Levine signed an order allowing law enforcement officers to carry
naloxone.[15]
In July 2017, Governor Wolf appointed Levine as Secretary of Health, and she was unanimously confirmed by the
Pennsylvania State Senate.
COVID-19 response
During 2020 and until January 23, 2021, Levine led the public health response on
COVID-19 in Pennsylvania as the state secretary of health. She worked closely on a daily basis with the
FEMA director and led a daily press briefing. Along with Gov. Tom Wolf, Levine faced criticism from a few Republican leaders over her handling of the pandemic, particularly with regard to
nursing home patients.[16]
On March 18, 2020, Levine directed Pennsylvania nursing homes to admit new patients, including stable patients recovering from the COVID-19 virus who were released from the hospital.[17] Despite warnings from nursing home trade groups that such policies could unnecessarily cost more lives, there is no evidence that Levine placed COVID-positive patients in nursing home facilities or that her decision resulted in excess death among the elderly.[16][medical citation needed] Levine was also criticized for mishandling COVID data reporting[18] and insufficiently addressing the long-standing oversight problems in Pennsylvania nursing homes that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] Levine faced further scrutiny in May 2020, when she moved her own mother out of a nursing home. In defending the move, Levine said, "My mother requested, and my sister and I, as her children, complied", describing her mother as "more than competent to make her own decisions."[20] These issues were momentarily highlighted by Republican lawmakers after President Biden nominated Levine for
Assistant Secretary for Health. However, Levine's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely praised as calm and steadfast by many Pennsylvanians and local media outlets.[21]
Biden administration
On February 13, 2021, President
Joe Biden formally
nominated Levine to serve as
Assistant Secretary for Health.[22] Her confirmation hearing with the
Senate HELP Committee took place on February 25. On March 17, the committee voted 13–9 to advance her nomination for a full Senate vote.[23] On March 24, the Senate voted 52–48, with all Democrats and two Republicans —
Susan Collins from
Maine and
Lisa Murkowski from
Alaska — joining all members of the
Senate Democratic Caucus to confirm her nomination.[24] Levine is the first openly transgender person to hold an office that requires Senate confirmation.[25]
Shortly after her confirmation, Levine told
NBC News that
LGBTQ youth are topmost in her mind when it comes to addressing health disparities in the United States.[27] She cited bullying, suicide, discriminatory policies, and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic as pressing issues among LGBTQ youth. Levine has also expressed concerns about vaccine hesitancy among LGBTQ youth who are more likely to experience medical distrust and less likely to seek medical care.[28]
During an April 2022 speech at
Texas Christian University, Levine criticized "disturbing - and frankly discriminatory - laws and actions" that many states have implemented that affect the lives of LGBTQ youth.[29] In an interview with
NPR, she cited a range of policies, including Florida's "
Don't Say Gay" bill and Texas' push to investigate parents who provide
gender-affirming care to their transgender children.[30] Arguing that such policies are based on politics rather than public health, Levine encouraged people to contact the
Office for Civil Rights when they feel discriminated against and vowed to provide support to those who contact her office.[29]
Personal life
Levine has two children.[31] She
transitioned from male to female in 2011.[32] Levine married Martha Peaslee Levine in 1988[33][31] during Levine's last year of medical school[10][4] and divorced in 2013.[34][4] She has served as a board member of
Equality Pennsylvania, an LGBT rights organization.[4]
Honors
Levine was named as one of USA Today's Women of the Year in 2022.[8]
Mahr, Fauzia; Farahmand, Pantea; Bixler, Edward O.; Domen, Ronald E; Moser, Eileen M.; Nadeem, Tania; Levine, Rachel L.; Halmi, Katherine A. (May 2015). "A national survey of eating disorder training: National Survey of Eating Disorder Training". International Journal of Eating Disorders. 48 (4): 443–445.
doi:
10.1002/eat.22335.
PMID25047025.
Ostrov, B. E.; Levine, R. L. (1998). "16. Interactions of puberty with rheumatic diseases, contraception and gynaecological issues". In Isenberg, D. K.; Miller, J. J. III (eds.). Adolescent Rheumatology. Taylor & Francis. pp. 301–324.
ISBN978-1-853-17553-4.
Henderson, C. J.; Ostrov, B. E.; Levine, R. L.; Lovell, D. J. (1998). "17. Nutrition and the adolescent with rheumatic disease". In Isenberg, D. K.; Miller, J. J. III (eds.). Adolescent Rheumatology. Taylor & Francis. pp. 325–340.
ISBN978-1-853-17553-4.
^
abcLoveland, Barry (February 6, 2017).
"LGBT Oral History: Rachel Levine"(PDF). LGBT Center of Central PA History Project Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections. Carlisle, PA, USA.
Archived(PDF) from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.