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Monthly News & Updates | March 2025 | |
🔎 Spotlight: Meet Our New Executive Director
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Following an extensive search, CTC-RI is pleased to announce that our Board of Directors unanimously selected John Minichiello, MBA to lead our organization into its next chapter. A seasoned healthcare executive, John brings a strong track record of advancing value-based care and population health initiatives, fostering collaborative solutions.
"I am deeply honored to step into the leadership role at the Care Transformation Collaborative of RI during such a critical time for primary care. The work CTC-RI is doing to reshape the primary care delivery model is vital to the Rhode Island community. I look forward to collaborating with our dedicated team and stakeholders to ensure that primary care remains the cornerstone of a high-quality, sustainable healthcare system. Together, we will continue to drive meaningful change and innovation in healthcare delivery."
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🔎 Spotlight: Commissioner King on New Regulations to Strengthen Primary Care
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In February, the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) finalized new regulations, effective March 20, that mandate commercial health insurers to increase funding for primary care and begin reducing administrative burdens due to prior authorization policies.
The new regulations are a preliminary step toward addressing the significant challenges facing primary care in Rhode Island. OHIC suggests other actions are needed by state and federal authorities to further sustain the primary care workforce and strengthen access for the future.
We connected with OHIC Commissioner Cory King to weigh in on these changes and their impact on primary care.
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🕑 Upcoming CTC-RI Opportunities & Deadlines
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Optimizing a Behavioral Health Approach to Managing Anxiety in Children & Adolescents
🗓️ Apply by April 18
CTC-RI, with support from UnitedHealthcare, is funding up to seven practices to participate in a 12-month ECHO® training program that expands providers' expertise in pediatric anxiety screening and treatment, addressing rising youth behavioral health challenges amid workforce capacity challenges.
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CTC-RI 2025 Annual Conference: Call for Abstracts & Poster Sessions
🗓️ Apply By April 11
CTC-RI invites primary care team members, systems of care, health plans, community-based organizations and others to submit abstracts for concurrent sessions and our poster sessions at our Annual Conference on November 19, 2025 hosted at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick, RI. Each selected presentation will receive a $500 stipend.
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CTC-RI Partners with Legislative Leaders to Host "What Legislators Need to Know" Workshop
This month, CTC-RI presented at the State House Library to brief legislators on Rhode Island’s growing primary care access crisis. Hosted by Sen. Pamela Lauria and Rep. Susan Donovan, the session featured experts from the CTC-RI Task Force on Primary Care Workforce Development, including primary care providers, pediatricians, and researchers from Brown University, the Rhode Island Health Center Association, and the Rhode Island Medical Society. Legislators learned about key challenges, including provider retirements, administrative burdens, and a limited pipeline of new professionals.
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Welcome Der Kue to CTC-RI!
CTC-RI is excited to welcome Der Kue, PMP, as a Project Manager. Der brings extensive experience in healthcare operations, project management, and quality improvement. Prior to joining CTC-RI, Der was the Clinical Support Manager at the Rhode Island Health Center Association, where she led initiatives to improve primary care access, clinical quality, and workforce development. She earned her BS in Business Management from Johnson & Wales University and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
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Happy retirement, Carolyn Karner!
Best wishes and appreciation are extended to Carolyn Karner, MBA who has worked at CTC-RI providing project management and data evaluation services since January 2018. Carolyn provided project management support for major PCMH Kids initiatives (Improving Pediatric Immunizations, the Pilot IBH Pediatric program, Healthy Tomorrows, Transitions of Care), RI MomsPRN, and Data and Evaluation. We wish Carolyn all the best with her retirement.
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Clinical Strategy Committee: Navigating Uncertainty Together
🗓️ March 21 (7:30-9:00 AM)
Learn about supporting providers and patients with immigration and sexual orientation & gender identity concerns, current and potential changes to federal law relating to immigration and gender and ways clinical healthcare practice may be impacted, best practices in data collection/documentation, and Prospect Charter Care Global Capitation experience and lessons learned.
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Expanding Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health Capacity––Cohort 2 Kickoff
In February, CTC-RI and Foundation for Integrated Care (FIC) launched year two of the Expanding Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) Capacity project, generously funded by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI. We welcome three new practices to the initiative: Santiago Pediatrics, Aquidneck Pediatrics, and Medical Associates of Rhode Island – Bristol. Special thanks to FIC’s Kristin David, PsyD, Sarah Ferszt, LICSW, and CTC-RI’s Liz Cantor, PhD for attending and facilitating the kickoff meeting.
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Welcoming Practices to Team-Based Care Initiative
In early March, 10 practices joined our Optimizing Team-Based Care Initiative, funded by UnitedHealthcare in partnership with the Art of Medical Leadership. This program goes beyond traditional leadership training, engaging entire primary care teams to strengthen collaboration, trust, and sustainable care practices.
Welcome to our participating practices: Barrington Pediatric Associates, Blackstone Valley Community Healthcare (Broad Street & East Ave), Blackstone Valley Pediatrics, Compassionate Care, East Greenwich Pediatrics, Rhode Island Free Clinic, RWMC Internal Medicine Residency Clinic, Santiago Medical Group, and Southcoast Health Tiverton Family Medicine. We’re excited to work with you!
| | 💻 Missed It? Recent CTC-RI Learnings! | | |
Clinical Strategy Committee: Alcohol Use Disorders and AHEAD Model
📋 Details
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RIDOH Primary Care Training Sites Program Opens March 24
The RI Department of Health (RIDOH) will begin accepting applications for its new Primary Care Training Sites Program on March 24. The program strengthens Rhode Island’s healthcare workforce by funding training opportunities for future primary care professionals. Eligible sites can receive grants of up to $90,000 per year to train more students and support preceptors mentoring physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Apply by March 28: Nurse Care Manager Model Training Application
This training program will empower community-based healthcare teams with the knowledge and skills to provide effective, evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders utilizing the Nurse Care Manager model of care. Teams will attend a two-day in-person immersive training and participate in monthly virtual technical assistance sessions with addiction medicine experts.
Apply by April 30: RIHousing to Support $500,000 in Health and Housing Initiatives
RIHousing’s Health and Housing Pilot Funding, with $500,000 available for 2-3 projects over three years, seeks proposals by April 30 for programs partnering housing developments with healthcare organizations to improve resident health and housing stability.
Focus Group Opportunities for Providers, CHWs, and Community Members
RIDOH, RI Public Health Association, and RI Geriatric Education Center are hosting focus groups to better understand the benefits and barriers to health programming throughout the state and ways to address these issues through the Community Health Network. Details.
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📰 In The News
Report: A Roadmap for Improving Health Insurance Affordability Through Rate Review
February 26, 2025
Drawing on the experience of Rhode Island, Colorado, and Delaware, this Milbank Memorial Fund report provides a step-by-step roadmap for states to design, build support for, implement, and maintain a successful and effective enhanced rate review program. Read more.
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🗓️ Upcoming CTC-RI Committee Meetings and Workgroups
March 21, 07:30-09:00AM – Clinical Strategy Committee Meeting
March 28, 07:30-08:45AM – Board of Directors
April 18, 07:30-09:00AM – Clinical Strategy Committee Meeting
April 25, 07:30-08:45AM – Board of Directors
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🗓️ Upcoming Learning Collaboratives and Professional Development
March 21, 12:00-01:00PM – Integrated Behavioral Health Meet and Eat
March 27, 07:30-08:30AM – Pediatric Sleep ECHO series
April 03, 07:30-08:30AM – Improving Child Health in RI
April 09, 08:00-09:00AM – CTC-RI Primary Care Workforce Taskforce Meeting
April 09, 09:30-02:00PM – CHW Asthma Home Visitor Training
April 09, 12:00-01:00PM – Screened for Developmental Delay, Now What? ECHO
April 10, 09:30-02:00PM – CHW Asthma Home Visitor Training
April 15, 07:30-09:00AM – STI QI Mid-Point Learning Collaborative
April 15, 08:00-09:00AM – Best Practices in Team Based Care
April 15, 12:00-01:00PM – MomsPRN ECHO Series
April 16, 07:30-08:30AM – Adult Immunization Midpoint Meeting
April 18, 12:00-01:00PM – Integrated Behavioral Health Meet and Eat
April 24, 07:30-08:30AM – Pediatric Sleep ECHO Series
April 29, 07:30-09:00AM – Diabetes/CKD Pharmacy Learning Collaborative
April 31, 11:00-12:30PM – CHW Advocacy Network for Leadership
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