NORTH PROVIDENCE – St. Mary’s Home for Children has unveiled a series of new partnerships as it seeks to bolster its services following a scathing report from the R.I. Office of the Child Advocate, or OCA.
St. Mary’s announced it is collaborating with Rhode Island College, the Tri-County Community Action Agency, the Parent Support Network of Rhode Island and the North Providence Police Department.
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Through its partnership with Rhode Island College, St. Mary’s plans to improve training and development of its staff. This initiative is also timely given that Dr. Marianne Raimondo, who is dean of the School of Business and director of the Healthcare Administration program at Rhode Island College, has been appointed to St. Mary’s board of directors.
St. Mary’s will also introduce mobile medical and dental services by partnering with the Tri-County Community Action Agency to improve the accessibility and quality of health services for its children.
Also, by collaborating with the Parent Support Network of Rhode Island, St. Mary’s plans to reimagine its Youth & Parent councils to foster support, empowerment and engagement.
The partnership with the North Providence Police Department will focus on de-escalation training for staff and co-hosting a community event in August.
“St. Mary’s Home for Children looks forward to the positive outcomes these partnerships will bring to the children in our care and our broader community,” said Charles Montorio-Archer, interim CEO at St. Mary’s. “These collaborations highlight St. Mary’s dedication to innovation and community engagement, and by uniting with these organizations, we are not only expanding our ability to meet the diverse needs of our community but also reinforcing our commitment to creating a supportive and safe environment for every child we serve. Each partnership, with its unique focus, contributes to a holistic approach that embraces education, health care, empowerment and community safety, setting a new standard for care and support within our community.”
The announcement of these partnerships comes weeks after details of an OCA report were revealed by the Providence Journal in January and showing the investigation was responding to “significant safety concerns and abusive living conditions.”
St. Mary’s board of directors announced it had appointed Montorio-Archer as interim executive director just days after the report’s details were published. Since then, St. Mary’s has announced several other leadership changes, including appointing Dr. Steven Bonauto to the newly created position of interim medical director and Brianna McShane Narodowy to clinical director of residential services. The C-suite has also seen some shakeups, with Lauren Utschig as chief operating officer, William Petit as chief financial officer and Christina Jagolinzer as development director.
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.