March 28, 2024

Local Doctor Helps Families Thanks to Grant from Rhode Island Foundation

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EAST PROVIDENCE, RI – An East Providence resident is one of 19 doctors selected to participate in a program from the Rhode Island Foundation designed to encourage physicians to go into primary care.

Dr. Chris Furey says his decision to focus on primary care was an easy one for him. “Having grown up in rural Vermont, primary care was the image I had of medicine. The idea of giving up any aspect of this essential healthcare just didn’t appeal to me.”

The Rhode Island Primary Care Educational Loan Repayment Program awards up to $20,000 annually for up to four years for each physician. The goal is to increase the number of primary care professionals in the state by helping them pay off their student loans.

“The loan repayment program enables our state to retain new primary care practitioners like Chris. It is building a stronger primary care workforce in Rhode Island,” said Yvette Mendez, the Foundation’s Grant Programs Officer.

A 2006 graduate of Rhode Island College (RIC) with a B.A. in biology, a 2010 graduate of Alpert Medical School at Brown University and a 2013 graduate of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Memorial Hospital, Dr. Furey amassed about $150,000 in student loans by the time he completed his residency.

Although primary care physicians generally earn less than specialists, Dr. Furey started his family practice knowing that he would be eligible for the repayment program. “I really think loan forgiveness is a great way to go to get people into primary care. There are a lot of residents who are talking about loan forgiveness,” he said.

When Dr. Furey enrolled at RIC, he planned to become a teacher. “The idea of going into medicine presented itself over time,” he said. But the decision to pursue medicine wasn’t so much a career change as it was a means of combining his passions for teaching and medicine. He is now is on the staff of Primary Medical Group and teaches aspiring doctors through family medicine residency programs at Brown and Kent Hospital.

Through his work with Primary Medical Group, Dr. Furey is helping to bring the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model to Care New England. “Although the idea of team-based care is very innovative, many of the concepts incorporated in a PCMH aren’t really anything new,” he said. “It’s really a combination of best practices of what people should have available from their primary care doctor, and it makes care more efficient.”

Studies from the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth and The Commonwealth Fund support this, finding that populations with ready access to primary care physicians realize improved health outcomes, reduced mortality, lower utilization of health care resources and lower overall costs for care.

“I’m excited to see how primary care gets developed within Care New England and have been impressed with their dedication to it. My first goal is to help our practice complete its transformation into a patient centered medical home, and I’m definitely interested in continuing to teach,” said Dr. Furey.

“The teaching aspect is easier within a hospital-affiliated practice and when you work with residents, you’re actually overseeing the care of more patients than you can working on your own. It will be fun to be involved as Care New England develops its patient-centered-care model. I’m eager to see how this all plays out,” he said.

Founded by the Foundation, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Medical Society and the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority, the program also awards up to $10,000 annually for up to four years to nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Six nurse practitioners and five physician assistants currently participate.

Other partners include United Healthcare, Rhode Island Area Health Education Center, Rhode Island State Nurses Association, University of Rhode Island College of Nursing, Rhode Island Health Center Association and the Rhode Island Academy of Physician Assistants.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2012, the Foundation made grants of more than $30.4 million to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities. Through leadership, fundraising and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information, visit www.rifoundation.org.

Rhode Island Foundation, primary care

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