Center for Primary Care – Overview & Demographics
The Center for Primary Care at Rhode Island Hospital is conveniently located on the bus line in South Providence three miles south of Rhode Island Hospital. We are a safety net facility for the greater Providence Community and one of three ambulatory training sites for the Brown Internal Medicine Residency program. Our population is diverse and over 70 different languages are spoken. Our payor mix is 80% Medicaid/Medicare, 10% commercial and 10% self-pay. We provide onsite interpreter services with 4 full time Spanish interpreters; 2 mobile video interpreters and each exam room has on-demand language line capabilities for over 240 languages.
We provide on-site subspecialty care for the following disciplines:
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Endocrinology
- Rheumatology
- Psychiatry (Brown Psychiatry Resident Clinic)
In addition, we offer several unique clinics and other services as detailed below, it truly takes a village to provide the quality of care our at-risk communities deserve.
Center for Primary Care – Selected Resources
At the CPC we have a large team that provides many additional resources for our most vulnerable or complex patients. Some of these team members include:
- PharmD Staff. We have Pharm D’s on site assisting with managing chronic disease such as diabetes, and hypertension as well as complex medications such as coumadin. Visits with pharmacists may be virtual, by phone and in person. Several of the Pharm Ds are also CDEs (Certified Diabetic Educators). They serve as a valuable resource for patients with a new diagnosis of DM or for those needing additional instruction.
- Social Work Staff. We have 2 Master level Social Workers and 1 Bachelor level social worker on site in the CPC. They each provide incredible benefit to our patients by providing services such as 1:1 psychotherapy and expedited mental health referrals (psychiatry and therapists ). They also assist with complex documentation, placement needs, emergency commitment needs, referral to partial hospitalization programs and help with securing community services for our patients.
- On Site Psychiatry. There are several clinics on site with psychiatrists and residents. They assist residents and attending staff to provide onsite guidance as well as direct mental health services.
- On Site Laboratory Facilities. Blood, urine and other labs can be done at the CPC, including evening hours
- Connect for Health: Connect for Health (C4H) is a program of the Lifespan Community Health Institute that screens patients for health-related social needs and provides navigation support to secure basic needs including but not limited to support with SNAP applications, housing applications, getting on discounted electric and fuel rates, and support with commodities for children and adults. In doing so, C4H uniquely bridges medical, community and social needs to help patients achieve a complete state of health. Starting more than 20 years ago as a family help desk with a handful of volunteers, C4H has evolved into a program with 175+ volunteer Advocates made up of undergraduate and graduate level students who serve thousands of patients a year. C4H is a program of Lifespan’s Community Health Institute (LCHI), which works to eliminate health disparities and promote health equity. Examples of the services offered by C4H are:
- Connect for Health’s Little Free Pantry:
Connect for Health’s Little Free Pantry (LFP) at the Center for Primary Care provides toiletries and non-perishable foods to our patients, reinforcing Lifespan’s mission of Delivering health with care. LFP is intended for low-income families and individuals. The Little Free Pantry is located in the lobby at the Center for Primary Care.
- Connect for Health’s Clothing Closet:
Connect for Health’s Clothing Closet at the Center for Primary Care provides adult clothing and shoes to our patients.
- Connect for Health’s Little Free Pantry:
Ambulatory Curriculum & Education
Most healthcare in the United States occurs in the ambulatory setting and most residency graduates will have careers involving an ambulatory component regardless of whether they choose a specialist or generalist career pathway. Our ambulatory curriculum is therefore designed to create a strong foundation in ambulatory medicine and to provide our residents with the skills necessary to be successful ambulatory clinicians and leaders regardless of their intended career choice. The goals of the ambulatory curriculum are to prepare residents to:
- Deliver high quality, evidence-based, comprehensive primary care to a panel of patients
- Appreciate how to navigate a complex medical system and work within a multidisciplinary team to coordinate the care of their patients
- Develop the knowledge and skills required to diagnose and manage the most common ambulatory clinical conditions and preventive care needs of their patients
- Gain experience in a community-based ambulatory setting (i.e., “Second Site”) that will supplement their continuity clinic experience and specifically prepare them for their intended career pathway
In addition to our dedicated ambulatory rotations, our ambulatory curriculum is broken down into four main components: 1) the continuity clinic experience, 2) community-based teaching experience (second site clinic), 3) an ambulatory didactic curriculum, and 4) additional clinical experiences in which residents can elect to participate. More information can be found on Ambulatory Medicine Curriculum and Educational Programming at https://brownim.org/2/ambulatory-medicine/ under the heading “Common Ambulatory Curriculum”.
Faculty as Preceptors
Faculty in the Division of General Internal Medicine are dedicated to the education of our residents and many precept residents at the Center for Primary Care (CPC) and the Fain Clinic at Miriam Hospital, both of which serve our communities as safety-net clinics. Preceptors at the CPC include a combination of faculty who practice primarily at the CPC, who practice at our affiliated faculty practice (BMAP), and who practice primarily on our inpatient wards teams (MedB). The varied expertise of faculty preceptors creates both a rich learning environment for our residents and better care for our complex patient population.
CPC – Specialized Clinics
Transitions of Care Clinic
Transitions of care from the hospital to home is difficult for many patients, especially those with high needs. Our Transitions of Care Clinic takes a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach to post hospital care. Our team consists of a Social Worker, Nurse Care Manager, Pharmacist and Attending Physician and resident physician. We address our patient’s global needs (both medical and non-medical) as they transition back to home life. This clinic is held weekly, coordinated by our Nurse Care Managers and has proven to improve clinical outcomes by reducing hospital utilization. A typical visit is over 60 minutes, booked within 2 weeks of hospital discharge. We find this clinic to be an excellent educational opportunity for residents working side by side with our team members.
Other Specialized Clinics overseen by Division of General Internal Medicine Faculty can be found via the links below, which will bring you to the Brown Internal Medicine Residency Website Ambulatory Medicine Section descriptions (under the “Additional Clinical Experiences Section”.
Refugee Health – click for more information
Reproductive and Gender Care Clinic
The Center for Primary Care’s Reproductive and Gender Clinic provides consultation visits for CPC patients of all genders. Common reasons for consultation include: hormone-related issues (menopause, hypogonadism and gender-affirming care); contraception and family planning (full spectrum including IUDs, contraceptive implants, medication abortion); vaginitis; and trauma-informed pelvic examinations for patients who do not want to obtain their pap smear/cervical cancer screening with their regular PCP. The clinic is staffed by Dr Mindy Sobota and 1-2 resident doctors committed to women’s health.
Recovery Clinic – click for more information
Procedure Clinic – click for more information
The Center for Primary Care offers a dedicated Procedure Clinic for patients requiring office-based procedures, including:
- Joint/Bursa Aspiration/Injections
- Incision and Drainage
- Skin Biopsies – Shave and Punch
- Skin Tag Removal
Our Procedure Clinic also offers a valuable training opportunity for residents to rotate through and receive a structured educational experience. During their time in the clinic, residents are trained to perform these procedures under the supervision of an experienced physician. Educational materials are provided as part of the structured curriculum to enhance their learning experience. The focus of procedural education is to help residents become more comfortable addressing common musculoskeletal complaints and learn essential office-based procedures.
Our goal is to enhance patient access to care while upholding the highest quality standards for our patients, trainees, staff and providers.
Additional Continuity Experience (Community-Based Teaching Program, aka “Second Site”)
Residents participate in a Community-Based Teaching Program commonly referred to as “Second Site”. During their 2nd and 3rd years, residents choose a primary care or subspecialty faculty practice setting in which to augment their outpatient experience. Many DGIM faculty participate as preceptors. More on this rotation can be found at https://brownim.org/2/ambulatory-medicine/ under “Continuity Clinic Experience”.