Originally posted 4/18/2016
Rhode Island may be the smallest state, but it has numerous government bodies and organizations that work toward the goal of promoting the health and wellbeing of its population. As medical student advocates, it’s important for us to understand the context of the state where we will be training, learning, and growing into future physicians. This blog post is meant to provide short summaries of Rhode Island’s major health-related bodies. A subsequent post will explore concrete ways in which we can intersect and engage with these organizations, but for now, which state governmental bodies regulate and administer healthcare in Rhode Island? Department of Health Mission/Focus: “The Rhode Island Department of Health's mission is to prevent disease and protect and promote the health and safety of the people of Rhode Island.” It wishes to “address the social and environmental determinants of health in Rhode Island... eliminate the disparities of health in Rhode Island and promote health equity... [and] ensure access to quality health services for Rhode Islanders.” Departments: Click here to learn more about the organization’s sub-departments/offices. Contact: 3 Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-5960 Department of Human Services Mission/Focus: “The Department of Human Services (DHS) administers human service programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Rhode Island Works Cash Assistance Program, Child Care, General Public Assistance, State Supplemental Payments, and Child Support. DHS is also responsible for determining eligibility for the state's health-benefits programs.” Ongoing initiatives: Click here to learn more Contact: Louis Pasteur Building, 57 Howard Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920 (401) 462-5300 Executive Office of Health and Human Services Mission/Focus: “The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) was created on December 1, 2005 to facilitate cooperation and coordination among the state departments that administer Rhode Island's health and social service programs. EOHHS is responsible for the management of Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other publicly-funded health-care programs in Rhode Island.” Departments: See here for a list of the departments under the EOHHS umbrella Ongoing Initiatives: Click here for a list of ongoing initiatives by the EOHHS Contact: 74 West Road, Cranston, RI 02920 (401) 462-5274 The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) Mission/Focus: “The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner is responsible for guarding the solvency of health insurers, protecting the interests of consumers, encouraging policies and developments that improve the quality and efficiency of health care service delivery and outcomes, and viewing the health care system as a comprehensive entity and encouraging and directing insurers toward policies that advance the welfare of the public through overall efficiency, improved healthcare quality, and appropriate access.” Ongoing initiatives: Click here to learn more Contact: 1511 Pontiac Ave, Building #69 First Floor, Cranston, RI 02920 (401) 462-9517 HealthSource RI Mission/Focus: HealthSource RI manages the health insurance “exchange” or marketplace that provides Rhode Islanders with (1) information about health insurance coverage and (2) the online infrastructure to register for insurance. Resources: https://healthyrhode.ri.gov/HIXWebI3/healthcare-resources Contact: https://healthyrhode.ri.gov/HIXWebI3/healthcare-getAssistance Department of Children, Youths, and Families (DCYF) Mission/Focus: DCYF believes that “the family, community and government share responsibility for the safety, protection and well-being of children through a family and child-centered wraparound model of care. When the family is unable to care for a child/youth, it is our responsibility, in as timely a manner as possible, to ensure the child/youth is provided permanency in his/her life in a safe, stable and nurturing home.” Departments: Adoption Child Welfare Child Care Foster Care Contact: 101 Friendship Street, Providence, RI 02903-3716 (401) 528-3502 Office of the Child Advocate Mission/Focus: “The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) is an independent and autonomous Rhode Island state agency responsible for protecting the legal rights and interests of children in state care. These rights include, but are not limited to, a child’s right to appropriate placement, healthcare and education, and to be treated with dignity and respect.” Examples of Relevant Laws the OCA Enforces: See here and here Contact: 57 Howard Ave, 4th floor, Cranston, RI 02920 (401) 462-4300 Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals (BHDDH) Mission/Focus: BHDDH administers a system of care that provides services for more than 50,000 Rhode Islanders with mental health and substance abuse issues, developmental disabilities, and chronic long-term medical and psychiatric conditions. As we continue to provide services for our most vulnerable populations, we also continue to navigate the changing landscape of healthcare reform.” Departments: Substance Abuse Mental Health Developmental Disability Contact: Barry Hall, 14 Harrington Road Cranston, RI 02920 (401) 462-2339 RI Department of Corrections Health Care Services Unit Mission/Focus: “The Health Care Services Unit, under the direction of the Medical Program Director, incorporates medical and mental health, dental and health education. This unit provides medical and clinical services to the incarcerated offender population, both sentenced and awaiting trial in all facilities of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC).” Departments: Administration Institutions and Operations Rehabilitative Services Contact: 39 Howard Ave, Cranston, RI 02920 Phone: (401) 462-2678 RI Commission for Human Rights Mission/Focus: Established by The Rhode Island General Assembly, the Commission enforces the Rhode Island antidiscrimination laws in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, credit and delivery of services. Examples of Relevant Laws the Commission Enforces: Civil Rights of People with Disabilities Act; the law regarding HIV/AIDS discrimination; Expanded Employment Protections for Conditions Related to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Related Medical Conditions Contact: 180 Westminster Street, 3rd Floor, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 222-2661 Office of the Governor Mission/Focus: Message from Gov Raimondo: “We must create conditions that will jumpstart our struggling economy, create jobs, and expand opportunity for all Rhode Islanders.” Ongoing Health-Related Initiatives: Working Group to Reinvent Medicaid; Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force; Working Group for Healthcare Innovation Contact: 82 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02903 Phone: (401) 222-2080 Fax: (401) 222-8096 Office of the Lt. Governor Mission/Focus: “The Lieutenant Governor is the executive officer of a state who is next in rank to a governor and who takes the governor's place in case of disability or death. His current interest areas and initiatives of Lt Gov Dan McKee include emergency management preparation, tackling issues facing small Rhode Island businesses, and coordination of long-term care for elderly populations in RI.” News: Click here for information regarding the Office of the Lt. Governor Contact: 82 Smith Street, Room 116, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 222-2371 Rhode Island Housing Mission/Focus: “Rhode Island Housing uses all of its resources to provide low-interest loans, grants, education and assistance to help Rhode Islanders find, rent, buy, build and keep a good home. Created by the General Assembly in 1973, Rhode Island Housing is a privately funded public purpose corporation.” Contact: 44 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 457-1234 Post Authors: Margie Thorsen and Noah Lubin, medical students at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and co-Coordinators for PLME Outreach and Engagement for Citizen Physicians
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Originally posted 4/13/2016
(Photo omitted with re-post) I'm thrilled to announce that Citizen Physicians has officially founded our third medical school chapter at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Pritzker's chapter is being spear headed by Michael Harries. Before starting medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Michael attended Washington University in St. Louis where he was very involved with global health work. Following graduation he spent two years teaching high school physics as part of Teach For America in Chicago. Michael remains very active in the Chicago educational landscape. He believes civic engagement is incredibly important, especially to enact social change in the areas he is passionate in: education and healthcare. As election season ramps up, students at our inaugural chapters at Brown, Harvard, and University of Chicago are looking forward to promote civic engagement activities on our campuses. If you are a healthcare student and would like to get information about organizing an event like a voter registration drive at your school, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Post Author: Aaron Shapiro, medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Founder and Executive Director of Citizen Physicians. Originally posted 3/21/2016
(Photos omitted with re-post) Aaron Shapiro is the founder and Executive Director of Citizen Physicians. Originally from Maryland, Aaron is a medical student at Brown, part of the National Health Service Corps, and a Global Health Corps alumnus. He gets really excited when talking about increasing voter turnout! Alan Siero, originally from Southern California, is currently a first-year medical student at Brown University who has experience in healthcare administration and communication management and is eager to continue to learn about his new home of Rhode Island and its legislative process. Formerly a communications director and public relations specialist, Alan joined Citizen Physicians as the Director of Communication to help further develop their online presence and manage a strong following for their social media platforms and newsletter for the upcoming year. Andreas Mitchell is a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. He grew up in Ellicott City, MD and went to college at Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied anthropology. Andreas is a member of the Student National Medical Association, Medical Students for Long Island (an addiction treatment advocacy group), and a former member of the Student Leadership Committee of the HMS Center for Primary Care. He looks forward to applying to residency programs in primary care internal medicine. In his free time, he enjoys running and binge-watching The West Wing. James Tanch is currently a first-year medical student at Brown University and is Director of Media and Blog Editor for Citizen Physicians. He is originally from Salem, MA, and graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in biology in 2012. Before coming to medical school, James was an ER Technician for three years at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. While getting his hands dirty at the Brigham, he engaged in quality improvement and wrote clinical checklists and policies for the hospital. Margie Thorsen hails from Cumberland, RI and is excited to be a part of Citizen Physicians Outreach and Recruitment at Brown University. Margie, currently a first year medical student at Alpert Medical School, studied public health in her undergraduate years at Brown and has particular interests in refugee health, digital health, and injury prevention. Margie looks forward to fostering a community of civically-engaged medical student advocates in her home state. Noah Lubin hails from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and is excited to join Citizen Physicians as the PLME Outreach and Engagement Co-Coordinator. He graduated from Brown University with a BSc in Neuroscience in 2015 as part of the Program in Liberal Medical Education, and he is currently in his first year at Alpert Medical School. With a passion for healthcare reform, Noah is looking forward to affecting change in health policy in Rhode Island. Shayla NM Durfey enthusiastically joins Citizen Physicians as Co-President of the Brown University Chapter. Shayla brings a passion for health systems change and advocacy, as well as experience working with the RI Department of Health. A native Rhode Islander, Shayla is a medical student who is excited to motivate her peers towards state government involvement and advocacy. Yao Liu is excited to serve as Co-President of Citizen Physicians of Brown University. He has conducted economic and policy research on health systems issues and interned in the RI State House on health reform. Originally from Oregon, Yao has adopted Rhode Island as a new home and looks forward to engaging medical students in the political process to advocate for our future patients. Originally posted 2/3/2016
(Photo omitted with re-post) I was thrilled to see how successful Harvard Medical School's first Citizen Physicians event was! They invited Dr. Ira Helfand, co-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and co-Founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility to speak to the over thirty students in attendance from all four classes of the medical school. He gave an engaging presentation on how advocacy as health professionals has a significant impact on international discourse, focussing on his work around nuclear disarmament. He discussed how resident physicians originally started these organizations as a journal club, but worked to grow them into a Nobel Peace Prize winning organization in only 6 years. Students left inspired hearing from a physician who was able to walk them through his journey of affecting change on an issue he felt passionately about. Thank you to Dayton McMillan (MS1), a founding member of HMS's Citizen Physicians chapter for organizing such a wonderful event and thank you to Andreas Mitchell (MS2), HMS Citizen Physicians' founding chapter president for doing such a great job getting these initiatives off the ground. Stay updated on great Citizen Physicians events by liking us on facebook and following us on twitter. Post Author: Aaron Shapiro, medical student at Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Founder and Executive Director of Citizen Physicians. 3 Important Dates to Know When Voting in the Presidential Primaries in the State of Rhode Island9/20/2017 Originally posted 1/18/2016
Rhode Island has semi-closed primaries. That means you MUST register with your party or as undeclared should you wish to vote for your candidate in the primary. You must register to vote along with your party affiliation at least 30 days before the primary! Further, if you wish to change parties to vote in an opposing primary, Rhode Island has a special deadline to change your affiliation, January 26. That is only 8 days away as of the writing of this blog post. Voter turnout in presidential primaries is notoriously low, which means your vote counts more than ever. The best way to support your candidate is to get out and vote for them, first in the primaries, and then in the general election. Here are the important dates to know if you wish to vote in the presidential primaries in the state of Rhode Island. PRIMARY election day: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 REGISTER BY: Saturday, March 26, 2016 CHANGE AFFILIATION BY: Tuesday, January 26, 2016 (8 days away!) Interested in learning how to register to vote in Rhode Island? Check out our previous post here. Post Author: James Tanch, a medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Director of Technology and Blog Editor for Citizen Physicians. Originally posted 1/16/2016
Like any citizen medical student, you might be wondering how to register to vote in your new state of residence. Let us break down the 5 W’s of registering to vote in RI. Who: RI Resident… Including RI medical students! What (do I need to register?): Not a whole lot. You don't need to move anything over (like drivers license or car registration to RI). Just submit your voter registration form on time (30 days prior to election time) and bring your photo ID (i.e. driver’s license of any state, US passport, Brown ID card, gym card… basically any old card with your name and face on it) with you to your polling place. You may also choose to send a copy of your eligible photo ID with your voter registration form. You also have the option of obtaining a special Voter ID that can be used at any RI polling place. Come election day, if you forget your ID, you can still vote using a standard provisional ballot; this ballot will be counted if the signature given at the polling place matches the signature on your submitted voter registration form. When: At least 30 days prior to the primary or election in which you want to vote OR after you change your name or address. Where:
How (do I know that I am registered?): Your local board of canvassers will send you an acknowledgement notice within 3 weeks (you will also be notified if your registration does not meet requirements). Still haven’t heard anything? Enter your information at the RI Voter Information Center to view the status of your voter registration, party affiliation, your state and federal elected officials, and dates/addresses of all upcoming elections. More Information:
Why? Because you are an excellently engaged medical student wanting to make a difference and you understand that the well-being of our patients is heavily influence by the decisions made by our government! Post Author: Shayla Durfey, a medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and co-President of Citizen Physicians Physicians are powerful advocates. They use their voices to become involved with the legislative process and medical students can too.
The General Assembly (Lower House+Upper Senate) of Rhode Island is only in session from January to July; that is when bills and laws will be proposed/passed and when you'll make any progress at the state level. If you already know of a bill that you strongly wish to support or defeat, you have a couple of options: you could testify at a committee hearing , write to a committee member, or call your legislator's staff. View the legislative Committee Calendars page in order to see when and where committee hearings are held and what will be discussed at each hearing. Each agenda will also say if testimony will be heard since the meetings are open to the public. You can participate in the hearing by speaking or submitting written testimony. In order to pursue either of those options, you need to sign-up with forms that are available in the hearing room. Calling to speak to legislators' staff would also be a great bet, but be sure to do your research ahead of time. Always provide context for why your contact is important to them: they care about your issue, they represent you (i.e. you vote them into office), there is similar legislation elsewhere, etc. Legislative staff can provide background information, set up meetings, and in general may be much more effective than emailing the legislator directly. Follow up every 2 days until you receive a response. To research legislature, head to the Legislative Information page on the GA's website. There, pay special attention to the following sections:
To be alerted when a particular bill is scheduled for hearing or consideration, use the Bill Tracker (you'll have to make an account) and enter the bill numbers you want to be alerted for. Later on this academic year, Citizen Physicians will host workshops on how to effectively testify at committee hearings and how to write a meaningful letter to committee members to ensure your voice is heard. We'll be sure to write up blog summaries of those events as well. Remember to subscribe to our informative monthly email digest, like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter. This blog post contains information from Steve DeToy, Rhode Island Medical Society (RIMS) Director of Government and Public Affairs. Thank you Steve! This blog post also contains information adapted from Emily Flower's presentation to students at the Alpert Medical School. Emily Flower is a volunteer with Generation Citizen. Thank you Emily! Post Author: James Tanch, a medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Director of Technology and Blog Editor for Citizen Physicians This article was published in Brown Medicine Magazine Fall 2015 issue. Author: Josephine Benson, Brown '17 When Aaron Shapiro MD ’18 moved to Providence before his first year at Alpert Medical School, he did many of the usual things: unpacked, learned the streets, changed his official state of residency. When he realized a local election was fast approaching, Shapiro registered to vote, read up on the issues, and set up a meeting with his representative to clarify details.
Shapiro grew up in Washington, DC, and says that although he was only peripherally involved in politics there, he tried to be informed and form relationships with his local elected officials. So he says he was “shocked” by how little people outside of the nation’s capital engage in politics. “Political speakers were always around me growing up, and I don’t think I realized … until I moved out of DC that most people don’t talk about politics with their local elected officials,” Shapiro says. “And that didn’t sit well with me.” His culture shock led him to found an organization, Citizen Physicians, with 15 other medical students. “[Citizen Physicians] is nonissue-based and nonpartisan,” Shapiro says. “We want to get future health care providers more engaged in politics and more competent and comfortable in engaging in politics.”Citizen Physicians has hosted several events, including a “nuts and bolts” training on the basics of civic engagement, a lecture by state Sen. Chris Ottiano on the importance of doctor participation in politics, and a meet and greet that was attended by numerous political staffers and community members, 43 medical students, and 12 Rhode Island elected officials, including Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea. “I expected politicians to show up, shake a few hands, stay for five minutes, and then leave, but a lot of people stayed the full two hours,” Shapiro says. The group also aims to increase voter registration, and provides voter registration cards at most events. At the orientation for new medical students in August, Citizen Physicians helped 24 of Providence’s newest residents register to vote. “Even if we’re only here for the four years that we’re in medical school, we’re here now, so we should be engaged in what’s happening now,” Shapiro says. “It’s really beneficial that Rhode Island is a small state, so that everyone has the ability to engage in these processes,” he adds. “It’s just a matter of making sure that everyone knows how to access [their elected officials]so that they can actually effect change.” Originally posted 10/19/2015
I’m thrilled today to announce that Citizen Physicians is growing! Less than one year after our inception, we are adding our first new medical school chapter: Harvard Medical School (HMS). Andreas Mitchell, a third year medical student at HMS will be laying the foundation for a new chapter of Citizen Physicians as the chapter’s inaugural president. We are thrilled to welcome him and his classmates to the Citizen Physicians community and look forward to the programming they will begin implementing next academic year. “It's exciting to join Citizen Physicians in the early stages of what I believe will become a much larger movement to engage medical professionals in their communities. We look forward to extending the great work done by Citizen Physicians at Brown to promote civic engagement at HMS and grow the regional community of civically active students and physicians. Our patients' health, as well as our own, is affected by policy decisions that are happening before our eyes. With the new Citizen Physicians chapter, we look forward to exploring and acting on the responsibilities that come with this reality.” I’m also proud to announce that Brown’s chapter of Citizen Physicians has recently transitioned leadership to extraordinary first year students! Shayla Minteer and Yao Liu will be leading Citizen Physicians programming at Brown as co-presidents. Alan Siero and James Tanch will be leading resource development and our online presence. Margie Thorson and Noah Lubin will be leading our outreach and engagement initiatives. I am both appreciate for and inspired by all of the passionate future doctors who are stepping up to better our healthcare community through individual civic engagement. If you would like to follow our growth, please keep up to date on our blog, subscribe to our informative monthly email digest, like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter. If you are interested in starting a chapter of Citizen Physicians at your medical school or have any questions about our start-up organization, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Post Author: Aaron Shapiro, Founder and Executive Director Originally posted 9/14/2015
Citizen Physicians is a start-up non-profit with a non-partisan, non-issue-based mission to train future healthcare providers in effective civic engagement. Our goals are to: Be the Rock the Vote of the medical community, increasing voter registration, engagement with locally elected officials, and voter turnout, Build the movement for physician involvement in policies that impact how we practice, and Teach future healthcare providers how to engage effectively as individual citizens in the political arena. We are looking for passionate, dedicated student leaders excited by our mission of training medical students to engage more effectively in political processes, students who are excited by joining the initial stages of a start-up non-profit, and communicative students who are excited to work collaboratively with students at other medical schools to share ideas and build programs together. If this sounds like an initiative you would like to bring to your campus, please check out the application page here. Please also distribute this call for applications to any healthcare students you know who might forward this initiative on to their class listservs. If you have any questions about Citizen Physicians or the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you. |
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