- By MIMI REITZ Beacon Media Contributing Writer
This story was originally published in the Warwick Beacon, a publication partner of Ocean State Stories.
Read this story in its original form and all other Beacon stories by clicking here.
The RI Free Clinic has been operating since 1998 with one mission at its heart: to serve as a comprehensive medical health home for thousands of adults in Rhode Island without health insurance – all without issuing patients a single bill. Thanks to a donation of state-of-the-art retinal imaging technology and companion screening software, the clinic’s facility in Providence just got an upgrade.
The technology comes from Eyenuk, a medical technology company that developed an AI software system called EyeArt that allows medical professionals to screen patients’ eyes for diabetic retinopathy and other sight-threatening eye diseases. Now, at every primary care appointment, patients can be screened for diseases that could seriously harm their sight and well-being if left unnoticed.
“This is another tool in our toolbox to help folks stay healthy and get the care that they deserve,” said Jessica Eagles, CEO of the RI Free Clinic. “Preserving people’s eyesight keeps them healthy and helps our community stay healthy.” Their team has already used the technology to screen dozens of patients, three of whom were referred to optometry experts for additional care.
Eagles said the clinic serves about 1,500 to 1,700 primary care patients, but the needs are great. While Rhode Island has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country at 2.2%,according to 2024 HealthSource RI data, the clinic’s waiting list is over 300 patients long, with about 10-15 patients welcomed to the clinic monthly.
“We take care of the whole person,” explained Eagles. The clinic has 20 specialties “under one roof” – allowing eligible patients to receive targeted care from experts.
The work building partnerships and fostering dialogue on the clinic’s important mission took dedicated volunteers around three years of “persistence, vigilance and hard work” to finally achieve this donation, said Dr. Philip Rizzuto, a professor of surgery at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University who has volunteered at the clinic for 15 years. He, along with recent URI graduate Paige Collins, spearheaded the initiative at Eyenuk.
“With such technology, it makes our jobs more efficient, and if you’re more efficient, you can actually help more people,” he said. “One of the best things we do at the Free Clinic is find people, treat disease and keep them out of the emergency rooms, so we can get the most vulnerable treated and safe, and keep them healthy.
The technology is one step at the clinic, and in the broader health care world, toward a shift to preventive care. Dr. Edward Medeiros, medical director at the RI Free Clinic, said this move is important, especially for uninsured patients who are often able to be treated in emergency situations, but miss the continuity of care that insured patients, who are able to get annual check ups and screenings, benefit from.
“I think finally we, as a community, are realizing that it’s too late once patients have had heart attacks and strokes and have uncontrolled diabetes,” Medeiros explained. “If they’re not taken care of or monitored, they lead to really catastrophic and devastating illnesses.”
With 435 volunteers, including 84 health care providers, the clinic relies on community support to provide care for uninsured Rhode Islanders whose household income falls below 250% of the federal poverty level. Rizzuto and Medeiros hope the clinic will continue expanding preventive services, using technologies like retinal imaging to catch diseases earlier and connect more patients with the care they need.
For both doctors, years of volunteering have reaffirmed the impact that accessible health care can have on a person’s life.
“You can actually see the effort that you’re putting in matters,” said Rizzuto.
The RI Free Clinic:
655 Broad Street, Providence, RI 02907
(401) 274-6347 • info@RiFreeClinic.org
