Joan Kwiatkowski

PACE-RI earns Pioneer Navigator distinction amid nationwide system

Health Services 11/23/2025

EAST PROVIDENCE – The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, health care and insurance system, which includes more than 194 programs throughout the U.S.,...

QUALITY CONCERNS: Curtis Dyer, left, clinical pharmacy operations manager at PACE Organization of Rhode Island, speaks with PACE participant Mark Harter about his medications. With a greater number of air quality alerts in recent years, officials at PACE are worried about the effects on the elderly.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Air quality in R.I. a problem that just won’t blow over

Focus 09/26/2025

On a typical week, PACE Organization of Rhode Island might have about 11% to 14% of its seniors cancel their visits to the nonprofit’s...

PBN SURVEY: Economy, election putting business on edge

Cover Story 09/27/2024

Rhode Islanders aren’t throwing parties like they used to just a year ago. At least, that’s the way Ines Gentile sees it. Gentile is a...

CHANGE OF PLANS: Jamie Sanford, left, administrator of Linn Health & Rehabilitation in East Providence, and Richard Gamache, center, Aldersbridge Communities CEO, in May check on Elsie Ann Linde, 89, who had moved into rooms at Linn that have been converted to assisted living. Since then, the nursing home had to close but administrators are still awaiting approval to open a memory and dementia care unit.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Struggling nursing homes mull change in direction to save themselves

Cover Story 06/21/2024

Richard Gamache was armed with a plan to save his nursing home this spring. The question was if he had enough time to put...

Wood River Health partners with PACE-RI to provide dental services to...

Health Services 06/09/2024

WESTERLY – Wood River Health recently announced it has partnered with PACE Organization of Rhode Island to provide diagnostic and preventative dental health services...

HEALTHY DISCUSSION: PACE Organization of Rhode Island CEO Joan Kwiatkowski, right, speaks during a panel discussion at Providence Business News’ Health Care Summit and Health Care Heroes Awards event at the Providence Marriott on April 4. Also on the panel are, from left, Dr. Michael Wagner, Care New England Health System CEO and president; Dr. Kristin Russell, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island chief medical officer; Sen. Pamela J. Lauria, D-Barrington; and Dr. Raj Hazarika, Point32Health Services Inc. chief medical officer and vice president of commercial products.  PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

Education, compensation key to addressing staffing shortages in health care

Health Services 04/12/2024

Now that American Rescue Plan Act funds have expired, the next six to eight months will be telling of what challenges remain in addressing...

SEN. PAMELA J. LAURIA, third from left, speaks during a panel discussion at Providence Business News' Health Care Summit and Health Care Heroes Awards event at the Providence Marriott on April 4. Also on the panel are, from left, Dr. Michael Wagner, Care New England Health System CEO; Dr. Kristin Russell, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island chief medical officer; Dr. Raj Hazarika, Point32Health Services Inc. chief medical officer and vice president of commercial products; and Joan Kwiatkowski, PACE Organization of Rhode Island CEO. PBN Editor Michael Mello, standing at right, moderates. / PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

PBN health summit: R.I.’s system gaining strength, but much more needs...

Coronavirus 04/04/2024

PROVIDENCE – Fragile. That’s the word that comes to Dr. Michael Wagner’s mind when he thinks of Rhode Island’s health care landscape. “As we ...

PACE-RI expands services in Newport

Health Services 02/26/2023

NEWPORT – PACE Organization of Rhode Island has expanded its services in Newport, effective Jan. 19. The nonprofit first reached the island in 2021, when...

Business Services 09/03/2021

PBN 2021 Leaders & Achievers Awards Joan Kwiatkowski | CEO, PACE Organization of Rhode Island Joan Kwiatkowski’s story is one of resilience. She lost her...