Health Matters

TAKING ACTION: Dr. Olutosin Ojugbele, a pediatrician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, led the hospital’s application process for the “Accelerating Child Health Care Transformation” initiative. / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Initiative at Hasbro Children’s Hospital to examine racial biases in pediatrics

Health Matters 08/20/2021

Pediatric health care isn’t immune from racial inequities. That’s the starting point for a new grant-funded program at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence and 11...

TECH SUPPORT: Dr. Subhashini Ayloo sits with the da Vinci surgery system that helps her perform complex liver surgery. Ayloo joined Brown Surgical Associates in February. / COURTESY LIFESPAN CORP./BILL MURPHY

Robot-assisted surgeon performs a first in R.I.

Health Matters 07/23/2021

With the precision of slender robotic tools, Dr. Subhashini Ayloo can look inside someone’s abdomen with three-dimensional accuracy. A small incision can be all she...

THE PANDEMIC EFFECT: Dr. Annie Gjelsvik, director of Brown University’s Master of Public Health program, says every person who applied for the program this year referenced the COVID-19 pandemic in their application. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Students increasingly seeing future in public health

Health Matters 06/25/2021

The pandemic may have had a silver lining. It opened many people’s eyes to the possibilities of a career in public health. After more than...

IN NEED: Andre Gill donates blood at the Rhode Island Blood Center. The center says donations are decreasing as people become more active as the economy reopens and COVID-19 infections decline. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

R.I. blood donations trickle in as economy starts to reopen

Health Matters 05/28/2021

Blood collections often wane during months when people become busier. And by that guide, 2021 is shaping up to be a difficult spring and...

IN GOOD HANDS: Jennifer Beaugh, right, pharmacy supervisor at The Miriam Hospital, hands a dose of COVID-19 vaccine to Dr. Karen Tashima at a clinic at The Miriam. Tashima is overseeing a clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine that hasn’t yet received U.S. government approval. / COURTESY LIFESPAN CORP.

R.I. plays role in making new COVID-19 vaccines

Health Matters 04/16/2021

What seemed like an epic race for an effective COVID-19 vaccine has produced several options that have people rolling up their sleeves across Rhode...

Helping those in recovery find a safe place to go

Health Matters 03/19/2021

Donna “Dee Dee” Williams works with people trying to stay off drugs and maintain a sober life. Her work revolves around coordinating services, including...

QUICK RECOVERY: Dr. John Froehlich, director of the Total Joint Center at The Miriam Hospital, says within the last year, the center has reduced its average hospital stay for patients having knees and hips replaced from four days to one day. / COURTESY LIFESPAN CORP./BILL MURPHY

At Miriam, joint replacement is becoming less of a pain

Health Matters 02/19/2021

Thirty years ago, when Dr. John Froehlich was an orthopedic surgical resident, the average stay for patients coming into hospitals for replacement of knees...

FINANCIAL WOES: Jennifer Romagnolo, administrator at Village House Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Newport, says she is concerned about the effects of a new minimum-staffing mandate state officials are drafting. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Staffing mandate worries nursing home operators

Health Matters 01/22/2021

Jennifer Romagnolo is used to paying her bills on time – both in her personal life and in her role as administrator for the...

LEAD INVESTIGATOR: Vincent Mor, a health services professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health, is overseeing a team of researchers who will be tracking potential side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines on nursing home residents. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Brown researchers to track COVID-19 vaccine effects on elderly

Health Matters 12/18/2020

As federal authorities begin the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine nationwide, local public health leaders are developing ways to track potential side effects. Brown University’s School...