Health Matters

GROWING GAP: Brown University Health nurse practitioner Pamela Lauria, who is also a Democratic state senator representing Barrington and East Providence, worries that the concierge care model, in which patients pay a monthly or annual fee to see a provider with a smaller patient load, will intensify disparities in the statewide healthcare system. PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Rise of concierge healthcare has raised concerns

Health Matters 05/22/2026

As a nurse practitioner at Brown University Health’s East Greenwich office, Pamela Lauria has met with new patients who tell her that she’s their...

A PRESCRIPTION: Meghan Grady, executive director of Meals on Wheels of RI Inc., displays one of the meals that are part of its Food is Medicine model, in which medically tailored meals meet specific health needs of seniors.  PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Delivering tailored meals as a health care strategy

Health Matters 04/24/2026

At a glance, a Food is Medicine meal delivered by Meals on Wheels of RI Inc. might not appear different than one of the...

TALKING HEALTH CARE: John Marchant, center left, leads a recent meeting of the Scituate Health Alliance, along with alliance treasurer Wendy Marchant, center right; secretary Courtney Cheng, foreground left; and Jared R. Neirinckx.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Could Scituate primary care safety net be an answer for R.I.?

Health Matters 03/27/2026

Dr. Michael Fine says he walked into the emergency department at The Miriam Hospital in Providence and saw “people spilling into the halls all...

HERE TO HELP: Annajane Yolken, center liaison and director of strategy, at Project Weber/RENEW’s overdose prevention center in Providence, which has been open for a year. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

First-year data signals success at harm reduction center

Health Matters 02/27/2026

When Rhode Island became the first state in the U.S. to authorize a government-regulated overdose prevention center in 2021, the novel nature of the...

German biotech company to establish U.S. headquarters in Providence

Health Matters 02/03/2026

PROVIDENCE – A German biotech company is set to establish its U.S. headquarters in the capital city. Repairon GmbH, a company working to develop new...

QUIET FOR THE MOMENT: Gretchen Anderson, senior clinical director of ambulatory and outpatient behavioral health at Butler Hospital, stands at the desk outside the hospital’s Express Care walk-in clinic, catering to people in need of immediate mental health services.  PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

New ‘Express Care’ clinic bridges mental health gap

Health Matters 01/16/2026

With outpatient mental health clinicians often having weekslong to monthslong waiting lists, people experiencing acute mental health difficulties often find that their only option...

NEW TRAINING: Chloe Johnson, of Portland, Ore., and Jack Pawlowski, of Taunton, are head residential assistants at Providence College. Over the summer, RAs at universities across Rhode Island received training on how to administer the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone. Johnson and Pawlowski are holding naloxone nasal spray kits. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Universities stocking naloxone on campus to prevent overdoses

Health Matters 12/19/2025

Amid routine preparations for the school year ahead, this past summer resident assistants at universities across Rhode Island received new training on how to...

SOLVING PROBLEMS: Theresa Raimondo, an assistant professor of engineering at Brown University, will be one of the faculty members taking advantage of an $11.1 million National Institutes of Health grant to research RNA for health care.  COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY/CHERIE DANIEL

Brown aims to become epicenter for RNA research

Health Matters 11/21/2025

Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, has emerged as one of the more puzzling mysteries of modern medicine and one that Brown University researchers are untangling. RNA...

NEW WHEELS: Salve Regina University has launched a new health and mobile outreach program that includes a 40-foot vehicle staffed by nursing students and professors, who will be making the rounds to local organizations for health education.  COURTESY SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY

Salve nursing students take detour from classroom

Health Matters 10/24/2025

After several semesters of delivering presentations and listening to them in a humdrum classroom, Salve Regina University senior Taylor Barnaby is hitting the road. And...