Dr. G. Alan Kurose is the CEO and president of Coastal Medical. Kurose, who oversees the Providence-based primary health care practice organization, was recently appointed the board chair for the Rhode Island Foundation.
Kurose spoke with Providence Business News about his appointment and his plans for the foundation as board chair.
PBN: What was your initial interest in joining the Rhode Island Foundation’s board?
KUROSE: My first exposure to the Rhode Island Foundation was in the fall of 2014 when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and foundation CEO [and President] Neil D. Steinberg co-convened a group of health care leaders in Rhode Island to discuss rising health care costs and the need for payment reform.
From that initial experience, I came to appreciate that in addition to its stewardship of philanthropy, the foundation has made a very intentional commitment to civic leadership. That commitment made me want to learn more about the foundation, and I was invited to join the board in 2017.
PBN: What are your initial plans as board chair?
KUROSE: The foundation continues to focus on strategies in K-12 public education, healthy lives and economic security and, as the largest funder to the nonprofit sector in Rhode Island, supports other types of initiatives as well.
The board and the organization will continue to champion diversity, equity and inclusion across all of our activities in fundraising, grant-making and civic leadership.
The foundation maintains a steady focus on its three strategic priorities even as it nimbly responds to urgent community needs such as COVID-19 aid and the arrival of Afghan refugees to Rhode Island.
PBN: Improving health care in the state is a major initiative that the foundation is working toward. How much of a hand will you have in advancing that initiative?
KUROSE: The role of our board is to provide broad oversight. We’re lucky to be working with a talented and dedicated professional staff. I look forward to working with them more closely in my new role.
PBN: From your perspective, what areas of health care do you think need to be improved in the state?
KUROSE: At the highest level, we want to continue to pursue the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim goals of better health and better care at a lower cost for the citizens of Rhode Island. Improving behavioral health and reducing disparities in access to health care and health outcomes are particularly urgent priorities in this moment.
PBN: Other than health care, what other sectors do you feel need immediate assistance from the foundation?
KUROSE: There is a growing realization that health is intimately related to educational status and economic security, and the foundation is deeply involved in working with donors and the community in each of these domains. Helping to support capacity building in Rhode Island’s nonprofit sector is another important aspect of the foundation’s ongoing work.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
