Committees
Public Laws Committee
Interested in the latest news and updates at the RI State House and in Washington D.C.? Join our monthly conversations on state and federal legislative and political topics that impact healthcare in Rhode Island.
Meetings occur on the third Monday of the month during the legislative session from 6:30–7:30 PM.
Michael Migliori, MD
Chair
Planetary Health Committee
The Planetary Health Committee brings RI physicians together to share their experiences on caring for patients affected by climate change and advocating for climate change mitigation legislation including a transition to green energy, climate change adaptation measures, and waste reduction across industries.
Meetings occur on the third Thursday of the month from 7:30–8:30 PM on Zoom.
Ankur Shah, MD
Chair
RIMPAC
As the political arm of the Rhode Island Medical Society, RIMPAC promotes the engagement and visibility of physicians in the political process.
Bradley Collins, MD
Chair
Finance Committee
The Committee on Finance is a standing committee of the Society. It is chaired by the Treasurer and supports the Treasurer in the performance of the duties associated with that office.
Meetings occur quarterly with an additional meeting during Q3.
Matthew Smith, MD, MHL
Treasurer, Chair
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee provides oversight to membership development programs and promotional opportunities for RIMS, including recruitment, retention, and related outreach activities, while using multiple marketing channels. Attention is focused on constituencies that will increase the diversity of the membership base and address new modes of practice and employment models through group enrollment.
This committee meets at minimum quarterly, but more frequently as needed.
Tom Bledsoe, MD
Chair
Awards Committee
The Awards Committee will review the existing recognition and awards programs and recommend modifications and new programs to the RIMS Board of Directors. RIMS is currently recruiting volunteers from the membership to serve on the committee.
The committee will meet 4-5 times annually via zoom at a time convenient to participants.
Heather Smith, MD, MPH
Chair
Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee is charged to foster and maintain a complementary balance in the leadership of the Society, taking into consideration such attributes as complementing the Society’s need for expertise in areas such as financial management, governance, fund-raising, law, public relations, politics, public health, business management, personnel management, cultural awareness, CME, long-range planning, health equity, and social determinants of health.
Heather Smith, MD, MPH
Chair
Mediation Committee
The Mediation Committee is a standing committee of the Society charged to respond to complaints lodged by individual members of the general public against particular physicians. The Chair and members of the Mediation Committee are elected annually by the Council. The Chair may also take an active role in constituting the Committee, the size of which is not set but should be very small. The Chair shall have discretion to seek out advice and expertise relevant to a particular case.
Physician Health and Wellness Committee
The Physician Health Committee (PHC) is a standing committee of the Society established in 1978. It works in a highly confidential manner to assist clinicians in managing stressors in their professional and personal lives for the purpose of ensuring that the clinician is consistently able to care for patients at the peak of the clinician’s potential. The committee meets virtually on the first Tuesday of each month.
Martin Kerzer, DO
Chair
Physician Health Governance Committee
The Physician Health Program Governance Committee is a standing committee of the RIMS Foundation and has general oversight over operations and finances of the Physician Health Program. The committee meets quarterly. Learn more
Priorities for Moving Forward
- Fostering Provider Well-being: Prioritizing the mental health and well-being of our primary care providers is essential. Exploring partnerships to develop wellness programs—such as mental health services, peer support networks, and burnout prevention—will help ensure that providers are supported and resilient.
- Addressing Compensation and Retention: Ensuring competitive compensation for primary care providers is vital for attracting and retaining talent in Rhode Island. Efforts to address low reimbursement rates, and explore salary adjustments, loan forgiveness programs, and other retention incentives will play a critical role in building a sustainable workforce.
- Streamlining Administrative Processes: Complex and overly burdensome administrative requirements are drivers for clinician burnout and impact access to care. Eliminating or simplifying prior authorizations, increased oversight of pharmacy benefit managers, and addressing electronic health records (EHR) systems challenges are priorities to reduce the administrative load on providers. Collaborating with policymakers and payers to address these burdens will improve care and clinician experience.
- Strengthening Training and Recruitment Efforts: Further developing innovative training models, especially those that meet the needs of learners from historically underrepresented populations, is key to Rhode Island’s primary care workforce development. Recruitment and retention of primary care providers are also crucial. By focusing on competitive compensation packages, mentorship opportunities, and flexible work environments, we can attract new talent and support early-career physicians.
- Developing Models and Supports for Delivering Culturally and Linguistically Accessible Services (CLAS) Systemwide: The diversity of Rhode Island’s patient population is growing, but many areas of the delivery system are failing to meet the needs of these patients and their providers. The impact of cultural and linguistic barriers on access to care and patient-provider communication must be addressed to ensure equitable delivery of health care. Prioritizing efforts to recruit and retain multilingual clinical staff and integrate language support services, such as interpretation and multilingual care teams across the system of care, will enhance the patient and provider experience, and ensure more equitable access and better care outcomes for all patients.
These priorities represent key areas where targeted efforts can make a meaningful impact. By continuing to build on this foundation, the Rhode Island Medical Society will help shape a more sustainable, efficient, and patient-centered primary care system for the future.
Public Laws
Maguire Anuszewski
Luke Barre
Tom Bledsoe
Gary Bubly
Keith Callahan
Jim Carney
Chris Carrera
Brad Collins
Austin Coppinger
Beth Cronin
Kate de Klerk
Chris DiMarco
Sarah J. Fessler
Jerry Fingerut
Tanuja Gandhi
Fiona Griffin
Marie Hamel
Alison Hayward
Dina Himelfarb
Peter Hollmann
Reed Junkin
Anar Kansara
Peter Karczmar
Viknesh Kasthuri
Leif Knight
Elizabeth Lange
Anagha Lokhande
Michael Migliori
Mollie Ockene
Alex Philips
Elizabeth Renaud
Jason Richards
Howard Schulman
Heather Smith
Matthew J. Smith
Nikita Sood
Kara Stavros
Mariah Stump
Rick Terek
Samer Wahood
Otis Warren
Awards
McKinzie Eggers de Clerk
Dina Himelfarb
Michael Poshkus
Liqi Shu
Heather Smith
Kara Stavros
Karen Tashima
Jinen Thakkar
Meena Theva
Planetary Health
Alison Hayward
Bryce Perler
Daniel Hu
David Dorfman
Carolina Garcia
Beth Lange
Heather Smith
Jack Sullivan
Joanna Brown
Jenny Howe
Jie Tang
Karen Maule
Katelyn Moretti
Kathleen Carney Godley
Kyle Denison
Martin Kelly McGarry
Martin Li
McKinzie Eggers
Meghan Geary
Mollie Ockene
Reuben Reich
Sarah Fessler
Thomas Bledsoe
Victoria Leytin
Victoria Angenent-Mari
Catherine Cummings
Sarah J. Fessler
Tanuja Gandhi
Peter Hollmann
Russell Settipane
Matthew J. Smith
Kara Stavros