Media Release

CONTACT: Robert Marshall, PhD 222-1017
FOR: Immediate Release
DATE:April 20, 2000

HEALTH Official Sees Patients at Providence Community Health Center
Arrangement Expands Cancer Screening Programs for Women

At 9:00am on April 21, 2000 Dr. Sharon Marable starts seeing patients every Friday morning at the Central Health facility of the Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC). Her focus is to expand services provided by the Women’s Cancer Screening Program (WCSP). Under other circumstances, this may not seem unusual. But Sharon Marable, MD, MPH, a specialist in internal medicine, is also a public health official at the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH).

"It took us a little time to work this all out," said Dr. Patricia A. Nolan, RI Director of Health. "But HEALTH considers breast and cervical cancer screening among uninsured women one of our top priorities. We arrived at an arrangement that benefits both the Providence Health Centers and the Department of Health. They get the services of an excellent physician for a few hours a week. HEALTH gets expanded, first-hand access to uninsured women who can be recruited into our breast and cervical cancer screening program."

An African-American, Dr. Marable comes from a long family history of participation in civil rights and community service. Dr. Marable joined the RI Department of Health in December 1998 as Assistant Medical Director, Division of Disease Prevention and Control. Her responsibilities include medical policy and planning for primary care, health promotion and chronic disease prevention. She is Principal Investigator of the State’s Women’s Cancer Screening Program.

"Seeing patients at the Providence Health Center extends my role as a primary care physician in the Department of Health," said Dr. Marable. "Patient contact maintains my close connection to the health concerns of the population. This experience becomes important in discussions about primary care health policy, particularly women’s cancer screening in Rhode Island."

The Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC) operates 5 facilities in metropolitan Providence. Most patients reflect the ethnically diverse, low income population of the area including those who do not have health insurance.

"This is a real opportunity for us," said Ron Winter, Executive Director of the Providence Community Health Centers. "We established the public health/community health center partnership to increase the number of appointments available for uninsured women to get breast and cervical cancer screening services." PCHC has provided services for the Women’s Cancer Screening Program since the fall of 1995.

There will be a brief, welcome ceremony for Dr. Marable at the Central Health Center 239 Cranston Street, Providence, at 8:30 am on Friday, April 21. The media are welcome. Dr. Nolan, Mr. Winter and Dr. Marable will make brief remarks and offer photo and interview opportunities for the media.