Rhode Island Hospital

Stem Cell Research Targets Cancer, Lung Disease

Kristin Gourlay — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Lifespan Hospital system’s growing research complex in Providence’s Jewelry District will benefit from a large National Institutes of Health grant to open new labs and fund new projects. Some of that research could translate into new treatments for Rhode Island patients.

New Lab Focuses on Stem Cell Research

Kristin Gourlay — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:28:23 +0000

Rhode Island Hospital has added another major research center to its portfolio. The new center will focus on stem cell biology.

Future Docs 5: Are We Training Enough New Doctors?

Kristin Gourlay — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:00:00 +0000

The nation spends billions of dollars every year training future doctors. But health care experts worry we’re still not training enough doctors to prevent a serious shortage.

Next in our Future Docs series, we explore the problem and some possible solutions.

Brian Drolet is a fourth year plastic surgery resident at Rhode Island Hospital. He’s originally from New Hampshire, and went to medical school at Vanderbilt University. He says he’s drawn to plastic surgery because of the variety of cases.

ERs see unusual surge in flu patients

Kristin Gourlay — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:32:04 +0000

(PROVIDENCE, RI) Rhode Island’s hospital emergency rooms are coping with an unusually high surge of patients suffering from the flu. But what’s driving that increase?

Most people who catch this season’s flu will spend several uncomfortable days shivering in bed. But those who get hit particularly hard can end up in the hospital, needing fluids or suffering from a high fever. And right now, says Dr. Brian Zink, head of emergency medicine for Rhode Island and The Miriam Hospitals, those hit hard by the flu are making for very busy emergency rooms. The reason? The season.

Future Docs, Part 3: The Changing Face of Residency

Kristin Gourlay — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:54:12 +0000

After medical school, most doctors go through a kind of on-the-job training called residency. Residency programs have been around for a while, but some recent changes in those programs are impacting not only how residents practice but how patients receive care. So in the next Future Docs story, we take a look at residency from two angles. First, we meet third year general surgery resident Anne Kuritzky, who takes us on morning rounds on the surgical intensive care unit. Then, I join our Morning Edition host Elisabeth Harrison in the studio to talk about the showdown ahead on Capitol Hill over residency program funding and the changing needs driving residency specialization.