GRAND FORKS — Five months into working for the Department of Health and Human Services, Emily O’Brien said her time as deputy commissioner has been a “whirlwind” so far. ADVERTISEMENTO’Brien has been deputy commissioner of HHS since August, when she resigned as a District 42 representative to take the position in Bismarck. HHS also put together the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program, which will award those funds to organizations across the state. It has been “a huge team effort, collaborative effort and stakeholder effort just across the entire state,” she said. O’Brien’s time as a legislator had an impact on her work with HHS.