Tag Archives for RI Department of Health

Rhode Island PR Campaign to Reduce Older Adult Overdoses

Published in RINewsToday on February 16, 2026

Four months ago, the State of Rhode Island joined an estimated 5,000 community coalitions across the nation and U.S. territories to participate in the 2025 National Substance Use and Misuse Prevention Month. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, organizes this annual federal initiative to highlight the importance of early intervention and community-based prevention strategies.

During November, the State launched its 2025 public awareness campaign titled No Matter Why You Use, aimed at preventing overdose deaths among adults ages 45 to 64 and older. This demographic group faces unique and often complex health risks that increase the likelihood of fatal overdose, making the campaign an important component of the Ocean State’s comprehensive strategy to reduce overdose deaths and improve lives.

The initiative focuses on aging adults who use substances, providing education and resources to help them feel more connected. “It’s also about eliminating stigma and amplifying the voices of those with lived experience,” said Cathy Schultz, Director of the Governor’s Overdose Task Force, in the statement announcing the program.

The statement also included comments from Linda Mahoney of the state’s Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH), who emphasized the campaign’s creative approach: “The approach we’ve used is designed to elicit a reaction of ‘this is my struggle,’ ‘that could be my friend,’ or ‘that could be my parent.’ The average person doesn’t typically connect substance use with older adults, but that’s part of the issue we face. If we can raise greater awareness of this reality, we can make meaningful strides in prevention, recovery, and eliminating stigma.”

Maria Cimini, Director of the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging, highlighting the state’s responsibility as its older adult population grows. “We must see the full humanity of older adults and confront the issues that too often remain hidden. Substance use is not a moral failing—it’s a public health challenge. By meeting people where they are, connecting them to care, and breaking the silence around stigma, we can build stronger, healthier communities for everyone.”

Data Reveals Rising Overdose Risks for Older Rhode Islanders

According to Joseph Wendelken, RI Dept. of Health’s Public Information Officer, national rates of accidental and undetermined fatal overdoses declined from 2023 to 2024 among adults ages 55–64 (from 51.8 to 41.1 per 100,000) and those 65 and older (from 13.4 to 12.5 per 100,000).

Wendelken noted that Rhode Island, however, experienced different trends. During the same period, the overdose rate increased among adults ages 55–64 (from 51.6 to 63.5 per 100,000) but decreased among those 65 and older (from 15.6 to 12.4 per 100,000).

While much of the national conversation about overdose focuses on younger populations, research shows that middle-aged and older Rhode Islanders often struggle with co-existing physical and mental health conditions, chronic pain, isolation, stigma, and limited access to care — factors that can contribute to rising rates of substance use and overdose, says RIDOH.

Among the key statistics driving the public relations campaign are findings from Rhode Island’s 2024 fatal overdose data. Individuals ages 45 to 64 are experiencing accidental drug overdose deaths at significantly higher rates than the statewide average.

Compared to previous years, the Health Dept. says that the rate of accidental drug overdose deaths continues to rise among individuals ages 55 to 64 in Rhode Island. Most overdose deaths in this age group (87%) occurred in private settings, such as homes.

Stimulants — including cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamines — contributed to 65% of fatal overdoses in this age group, reflecting a growing public health concern beyond opioid-related deaths. Fentanyl was involved in more than half (51%) of fatal overdoses, underscoring its continued role as a primary driver of overdose deaths. A combination of fentanyl and cocaine contributed to 34% of overdoses in this population.

The greatest proportion of overdoses in this age group occurred among males (69%) and non-Hispanic white individuals (74%).

A Statewide Strategy to Prevent Overdose and Save Lives

“The No Matter Why You Use campaign raises awareness of substance use and overdose risks among middle-aged and older adults, provides clear prevention information, and directs Rhode Islanders to PreventOverdoseRI.org for treatment and recovery resources,” said Wendelken. Educational materials have been distributed to hundreds of community partners, including senior centers, healthcare providers, libraries, senior housing sites, and recovery community centers.

The No Matter Why You Use campaign is being led in partnership by the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), BHDDH, OHA, and RIDOH. .

This data-driven campaign supports Gov. Dan McKee’s Overdose Task Force “Roadmap,” which is built on four pillars: strengthening comprehensive prevention; expanding harm reduction and rescue efforts; increasing engagement in treatment; and supporting recovery,” Wendelken explained.

The state initiative is guided by cross-cutting strategies designed to promote an equitable response to the overdose epidemic. These strategies include embedding racial equity across all pillars; strengthening governance and community engagement; expanding data capacity and surveillance; and addressing social determinants of health throughout each pillar.

According to Wendelken, this evidence-informed approach aligns with Rhode Island’s broader overdose prevention strategy and ongoing efforts to save lives.

The state partnered with RDW Group on the No Matter Why You Use campaign. The initiative is based on formative research that included in-depth interviews with subject-matter experts and individuals with lived experience — including people in recovery, counselors, social workers, community advocates, and physicians. These authentic voices helped shape the campaign’s messaging, which emphasizes the impact of stigma, hopelessness, and emotional distress as common triggers for substance use among aging adults who may feel isolated or disconnected.

The campaign’s powerful, portrait-style imagery and first-person messaging acknowledge that people use substances for complex reasons — including isolation, pain, trauma, anxiety, and depression — while centering compassion at its core: No matter why you use, your life matters. Hope and help are here, adds RIDOH.

You can find stories of local Rhode Islanders sharing their powerful recovery stories on the RIDOH (go to https://pori.soapboxx.com).

Designed to help individuals feel safe, seen, and supported, the campaign connects Rhode Islanders to local treatment, recovery, and harm reduction resources at PreventOverdoseRI.org. Its media strategy uses data-driven insights from fatal overdose heat maps to target placements for aging adult audiences. Outreach includes digital advertising on social media, website and app display ads, local and streaming radio spots, and advertisements on gasoline pump televisions.

RIDOH notes that The No Matter Why You Use campaign also includes grassroots outreach to more than 250 organizations statewide. Its launch is part of a comprehensive and ongoing effort by Rhode Island to address substance use and related public health crises.

From Crisis to Recovery

The state’s new No Matter Why You Use campaign, aimed at reducing overdose deaths and addressing stigma among older adults, marks an important first step in combating substance use disorder, says Diane Dufresne, Director of the Pawtucket Prevention Coalition. The coalition is a community organization dedicated to addressing social issues such as substance use, poverty, and homelessness.

Dufresne emphasizes the importance of using precise, nonjudgmental language like “substance use disorder” to shape public perception and support recovery.

“The state’s campaign sloganis powerful because it centers compassion over judgment and makes one thing clear: every life is worth saving,” says Dufresne, who holds a degree in counseling and has been a certified prevention specialist for five years. She also brings more than 40 years of experience as a registered nurse, this extensive clinical background strengthening  her work in substance use prevention and advocacy.

Drawing on her frontline experience, Dufresne agrees with the state’s assessment that substance use and overdose rates are rising among adults age 45 and older. She attributes this trend in part to limited harm-reduction education available to this generation.

“Many older adults developed addictions through legitimate opioid prescriptions and now face complex health challenges, including dangerous interactions with medications prescribed for coexisting conditions,” she explains.

Dufresne notes that shame and stigma are primary drivers of isolation among older adults, increasing the risk of fatal overdoses. “Older adults are more likely to use substances alone in private settings. “Younger people have received more harm-reduction education and better understand the risks of using alone,” she says.

Dufresne also highlights significant barriers to treatment, including transportation challenges, insurance limitations, technology gaps, and reduced mobility. Addressing these obstacles, she says, will require increased state funding and more targeted outreach efforts.

“Increased funding is necessary for community organizations to expand anti-stigma education, provide training opportunities, and connect older adults with treatment and recovery services,” Dufresne says.

The No Matter Why You Use campaign acknowledges the unique challenges facing this demographic, including limited exposure to modern harm-reduction practices, a higher likelihood of addiction stemming from prescribed opioids, and increased social isolation.

Dufresne advocates pairing Narcan distribution with anti-stigma education and recommends practical strategies to reach isolated seniors.

“Effective outreach should include combined Narcan and anti-stigma training in senior housing and community centers, along with door hangers that provide service information for individuals in private residences,” she says.

Above all, Dufresne stresses that saving lives must remain the priority.

“The act of saving a life should never be influenced by judgments about a person’s history of addiction or previous overdoses,” she says.

Advocates, providers on new Nursing Home mandates

Published in RINewsToday on April 29, 2024

In the shadow of Rhode Island’s ongoing staffing shortage, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its 329-page final rule on Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Standards (CMS 3442-F) on April 22 in the Federal Rule. 

CMS affirmed its commitment to hold nursing homes accountable for providing safe and high-quality care for the nearly 1.2 million residents living in Medicare-and Medicaid-certified long-term care facilities.  

According to CMS, over 46,000 public comments submitted in response to the proposed rule. Central to this final rule are new comprehensive minimum nurse staffing requirements, which aim to significantly reduce the risk of residents receiving unsafe and low-quality care within nursing homes.

Just the Nuts and Bolts

CMS say that central to its final rule are new comprehensive minimum nurse staffing requirements that would significantly reduce the risk of residents receiving unsafe and low-quality care within nursing homes.  The agency is finalizing a total nurse staffing standard of 3.48 hours per resident day (HPRD), which must include at least 0.55 HPRD of direct registered nurse (RN) care and 2.45 HPRD of direct nurse aide care. Facilities are given the flexibility to use any combination of nurse staff (RN, licensed practical nurse [LPN] and licensed vocational nurse [LVN], or nurse aide) to account for the additional 0.48 HPRD needed to comply with the total nurse staffing standard.

CMS is also finalizing enhanced facility assessment requirements and a requirement to have an RN onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide skilled nursing care. 

This final rule provides a staggered implementation timeframe for facilities to meet the minimum nurse staffing standards and 24/7 RN requirement based on geographic location as well as possible exemptions for qualifying facilities for some parts of these requirements based on workforce unavailability and other factors. The requirements of this final rule prioritize safety and health care quality while taking into consideration the unique workforce challenges some nursing homes are facing, especially those operating in rural areas. 

CMS will closely monitor and evaluate the provisions of this final rule, including but not limited to, the minimum staffing standards, the 24/7 RN requirement, the exemption process, and the definition of rural, as they are implemented over the next several years to determine whether any updates or changes are necessary in the future. 

Additionally, to increase transparency related to compensation for workers, CMS will also require states to collect and report on the percent of Medicaid payments that are spent on compensation for direct care workers, and support staff, delivering care in nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities, for individuals with intellectual disabilities. 

Provider, advocate positions on new CMS final rule

At press time, the RI Department of Health (RIDOH) had no comments about CMS’s new final rule released last week, say Joseph Wendelken, RIDOH’s public information officer.  The state agency is reviewing the rule and assessing its impact and applicability in Rhode Island,” he says.

With the final rules release, senior advocates and providers are expressing their opinion about its impact.

Former President Donald Trump, who is challenging President Joe Biden for the presidency, has not addressed quality of care in nursing homes with a formal position.  Kathleen Heren, Rhode Island’s Ombudsman, speculates that by releasing the CMS mandate before the upcoming presidential election, President Biden is just trying “to establish a record” of enhancing quality of care in nursing homes.

“Nursing homes cannot find  Registered nurses (RN), and Nursing Assistances to hire,” notes Heren.  The CMS mandate will force nursing homes to downsize, like we have just seen happen at the Scandinavian Home,” she predicts.

According to Heren, the final CMS rules do not include the minimum staffing of LPNs. More important, “it’s an unfunded mandate,” she says.

Gerontologist Deb Burton, MS, executive director of RI Elder Info, is pleased to see a Federal minimum staffing mandate of 3.48 hours of daily nursing care. “It’s important to understand mandates don’t make workers appear and a minimum staffing mandate is only an average amount of time allotted for care across all residents in the facility,” she says, noting that this rule doesn’t mean each resident will receive 3.48 hours of care each day.

According to Burton, the CMS Nursing Home Compare website, as of April 2024, notes there are 6 Rhode Island facilities that would not meet the lower federal minimum staffing mandate if it were enacted today. “The workforce shortage and the dire need to increase Medicaid reimbursements to attract and retain adequate staff with a proper wage are common topics of meetings,” says Burton. 

“When workers say ‘It’s only me on the floor – do I help the resident eat their supper or take the other resident to the bathroom? I can’t do both,’ – we need to listen,” says Burton. “The new federal minimum staffing mandate is a good step forward, but we need more. One day it will likely be us waiting for that workers’ help,” she warns. 

Like other RI senior advocates, Maureen Maigret, policy director for the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI, sees the importance of CMS releasing its final rules.  “It is important that these regulations have been finalized as providing for minimum nurse staffing levels in nursing homes helps  ensure residents across the country will receive quality and resident-centered care,”  she says. 

According to Maigret, Rhode Island has had a provision for 24/7 RN coverage even before the state’s minimum staffing law was passed so that is not a new requirement here. She pointed out the regulations will also promote transparency and accountability by requiring public reporting on how much of the Medicaid payments are spent on direct care staff and that the federal government has committed to invest over $75 Million in an initiative to increase the number of nurses working in nursing homes through such things as financial incentives for tuition reimbursement.   

“We are dismayed that the Biden Administration is moving forward with this one-size-fits-all staffing mandate,” says John E. Gage, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association. “In the midst of a historic and deepening caregiver shortage, this unrealistic policy will put access to care at risk for countless seniors in Rhode Island and across the country,” he warns, noting that when nursing homes can’t find nurses and/or certified nursing assistants (CNAs), they will be forced to downsize or, even worse, close their doors altogether, leaving seniors with fewer options to receive the care they need.

New final rule just another unfunded mandate

Like the 2021 RI staffing law, the Federal rule is an unfunded mandate, charges Gage. “Every nursing home wants more workers, but rather than blanket mandates from Washington, we need supportive policies and investments that will help us recruit and retain caregivers, he states.

According to Gage, nationally, the nursing home workforce has declined by 124,200 individuals (-7.8%) since the start of the pandemic. Rhode Island’s numbers are even worse, down 1,495 individuals (-15.3%). Gage calls on Congress to step up and support the bipartisan Protecting America’s Seniors’ Access to Care Act, which would prevent CMS from enforcing this unfunded and flawed mandate.

“Together with our national association, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), we will continue to fight for more common-sense solutions and do everything we can to preserve access to care for Rhode Island seniors,” says Gage.

“The good news about the Biden Administration’s final rule, there are phase-ins over multiple years that will provide an opportunity to challenge the mandates through legislation and/or possible AHCA litigation on the national level,” adds Gage. “The federal mandate highlights how much of an outlier RI’s staffing mandate is.  The RI statute has the highest staffing metrics and the highest fines in the country – 10% above the federal standards.  Without the Executive Actions of Governor McKee, RI nursing homes would be fined $90 million in the first full year of enforcement – devastating facilities and forcing further closures.  RI excludes hours worked by administrative nurses from counting toward the RN metric, yet they are included in the federal standards.  RI also excludes med techs’ and nurse aides in training’s hours from the CNA metric, while CMS includes them,” noted Gage.

Gage adds that the CMS final rules consider Rhode Island to be “urban.” As a result, the state has 2 years to phase-in the 24×7 RN requirement.

Rhode Island regulations and law have required 24×7 RN coverage in nursing homes for many decades, says Gage. “While challenging to maintain compliance given the shortage of registered nurses, this should not be a major concern for RI facilities,” he adds, noting that there will be 3 years to comply with the required 0.55 HPRD for RNs and 2.45 HPRD for CNAs. 

Additionally, Gage says that there are also waiver opportunities in certain circumstances.  “During the implementation phase, facilities and all stakeholders must be laser-focused on building a sufficient pipeline of qualified nurses and CNAs to the nursing home workforce,” he says.  

Like Gage, James Nyberg, executive director LeadingAgeRI, sees the CMS mandate as less onerous than the RI staffing mandate that “fortunately” remains suspended. “We remain concerned about the impact of this national mandate on providers in Rhode Island, and its broader impact on consumers and the health care industry,” he says.

According to Nyberg, the state’s current workforce shortages are already preventing nursing homes from filling open positions, limiting new admissions, and forcing organization closures (six nursing homes have already closed since the COVID pandemic began and two more have embarked on significant downsizing). 

“These challenges are also resulting in backlogs at hospitals, which are unable to discharge patients due to reduced capacity in nursing homes,” says Nyberg, noting that LeadingAgeRI is working with numerous stakeholders on various initiatives to develop a pipeline of workers. “But the simple fact is that it will take time and an infusion of resources,” he adds.

“CMS proposes to spend $75 million on a nursing home staffing campaign.  That amount might help a state like Rhode Island, but that money is national, so it is a drop in the bucket in terms of the support the industry needs, states Nyberg.  “On the home front, we have been working with the Administration and the General Assembly to provide an infusion of funding to try and rescue the homes from their dire financial straits and try to stabilize the industry.  But the federal mandate, and all the related details and requirements embedded in the rule, do nothing to further that cause,” he says.

For the Minimum Nursing Standard final rules, go to https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-08273.pdf

For the CMS Fact Sheet  on Minimum Nursing Standard final rules, go to https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-minimum-staffing-standards-long-term-care-facilities-and-medicaid-0

Regulatory approval can make a belated Christmas miracle happen

Published in RINewsToday on April 8, 2024

A belated Christmas miracle may truly happen, if state and federal agencies allow the Linn Health & Rehabilitation to convert one of its floors into affordable assisted living specializing in memory and dementia care. If this happens, says the facility’s management and its Board of Trustees it will keep the East Providence-based nonprofit facility from closing, preventing the displacement of residents and staff. 

Faced with rampant inflation, rising food and utility costs, high temporary staffing agency fees, and very low state Medicaid reimbursement rates that haven’t kept pace with increasing costs in over a decade, Linn Health, established over 52 years ago, publicized its financial troubles over four months ago.   

The Best of the Best 

When the news broke about Linn Health & Rehabilitation’s financial crisis over four months ago, the facility had just been named a 2024 ‘Best Nursing Home’ and ‘High-Performing’ short-term rehabilitation home in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, states Jamie L. Sanford, LNHA, LCSW, administrator of Linn Health & Rehabilitation.

“Here we are, one of the elite nursing homes in the United States, and we are finding it difficult to stay afloat like six other homes in our local market who have gone out of business, and three others who have declared bankruptcy, and one other who recently had to downsize by 50 beds,” says Sanford.

“It’s sad that Rhode Island families who deserve an affordable 5-star nursing home like ours don’t have the option because of inadequate Medicaid reimbursement. The struggle is real,” says Sanford.

Together with Aldersbridge Communities and its volunteer Board of Trustees, Linn leaders launched a savvy PR move, calling it a “Hail Mary” effort, to find its Christmas miracle donors and funding to prevent it from closing or forcing the displacement of 71 residents and the laying off of 150 staff members. A clever twist on the message resulted in a story on Rhode Island television stations, talk radio, and pick up by other media outlets.

“Our tireless pleas for funds to keep us afloat until a slight Medicaid reimbursement rate increase is expected to take place later this year were heard, but didn’t result in us receiving any emergency gap funding. We did receive charitable contributions from generous donors in earnest, but the amount was nowhere near enough to cover our losses of $100,000 per month,” states Richard Gamache, MS, FACHCA, chief executive officer of Aldersbridge Communities. With revenues dwindling, Linn leadership came up with a solution: convert one floor of the nursing home into affordable assisted living, specializing in memory and dementia care”, he notes. 

Submitting the Application

According to Gamache, its application for recertification was submitted last month and he expects the license to be approved by the RI Department of Health soon. “Obtaining our certification so that we can bill the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is a bigger obstacle, because the federal government is involved,” he says. But, it could take “one or two months to get the facility’s licensing and certification approved by the RI Department of Health and Human Services (RIDHS) and CMS.  

If approved and certified, Linn Health & Rehabilitation will operate “The Loft at Linn” – a new assisted living memory care unit featuring 22 private studio apartments on the second floor of the building. The third floor will remain a licensed nursing home, albeit smaller now with 33 beds.

According to Gamache, the RIDHS has recertified Linn residents currently receiving long-term care to qualify for assisted living-level memory care, enabling them to continue to live at Linn and have the same caregivers they are used to and know. 

Meanwhile, grant funding from the Rhode Island Foundation, the Ruby Linn Foundation, and other sources are being used to pay for the apartment renovations; and to re-educate and train certified nursing assistants to become certified medical technicians so they can remain on staff working at the assisted living memory care program.

Shifting operations to assisted living and repurposing existing nursing home rooms will keep the facility’s doors open. “It’s not enough to solve our financial woes completely, as we expect the nursing home to continue to lose money – just not as much as we have been losing,” notes Gamache. “The irony is that we will save Rhode Island over $780,000 in a year because of the difference between what they will reimburse us for assisted living, versus a skilled level of care per Medicaid resident,” Gamache calculates. 

As a whole, because we’re going from a 42-bed skilled nursing floor to a 22-bed assisted living floor, the state is going to save $2.8 million per year in Medicaid dollars,” notes Gamache.

It is not surprising that Rick Gamache, who has years of experience managing nursing facilities, might have just found a way to keep his facility open,” says Kathleen Heren, Rhode Island’s Ombudsman. If the request of recertification is approved by state and federal regulators to offer assisted living with memory care, residents won’t be displaced and workers won’t lose their jobs, says Heren.

“It was never a viable option to sell Linn Health to an out-of-state nursing facility chain,” says Heren, noting that there is a need for assisted living facilities offering memory care. “There are high functioning people affected with dementia, with no medical conditions, who do not need to be placed in a nursing facility,” she adds.

Comments from the Sideline 

Like Heren, Maureen Maigret, policy advisor for the Senior Agenda Coalition and member of the RI Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Treatment, holds Gamache in high regard. By converting a floor to needed assisted living with a memory care, staff will not be displaced, so residents with memory issues will not be losing staff who know them and who they are comfortable with.

According to Maigret, many assisted living residences strictly limit residents on Medicaid. A few years back, the state changed the Medicaid reimbursement for assisted living to one with three levels of reimbursement with a higher level of reimbursement to encourage more residences to accept persons with higher needs who are on Medicaid. ”We know that RI has many persons with diagnoses of Alzheimer’s and related dementias so such memory care programs are critical for those who cannot pay privately with monthly rates often over $6,000,” says Maigret.

Maigret notes that the state’s Health Department reports that 34 assisted living residences are licensed as Special Care/Alzheimer’s residences, but it is does not show which ones accept Medicaid. “And even those that do often limit the number of residents on Medicaid as they can get higher reimbursements from private paying persons,” she says.

According to Gage, in 2024, RI’s nursing homes are being paid rates by Medicaid that are based on their 2011 actual costs under the price-based reimbursement system that was implemented in 2013. Core principles of this reimbursement methodology are the statutory annual inflation adjustments and a Medicaid rate analysis every three years to determine whether rates are reasonable and adequate. “In the vast majority of years in the past decade, RI Medicaid has slashed or eliminated inflation adjustments, and they have never conducted a rate analysis/adjustment.  As a direct result, RI nursing homes are losing $50-75/day on each resident receiving care under Medicaid,” he says.

Gage predicts that Linn and Scandinavian Home will not be the last to make the difficult choice to downsize or close. “Just since the start of the pandemic, six RI nursing homes have closed and three were in receivership. Now, two nonprofit homes are forced to downsize their facilities,” he noted. “RI nursing homes must be adequately reimbursed by Medicaid under a stable and sustainable reimbursement system, and there needs to be bold action to recruit and retain frontline healthcare workers at competitive rates,” he warns, calling for the state to preserve nursing facilities. 

Demographics show a silver tsunami on the horizon. We need to ensure that there will be capacity for those who will need short-term or long-term care and services in the coming years,” states Gage.

As far as any potential Medicaid savings resulting from the planned conversion, Gage says that Linn would only be able to accommodate 33 nursing facility residents down from its former capacity of 87. By downsizing the nursing home by 54 beds and transitioning that floor into low-income memory care assisted living for just 22 residents, there will be a savings to the state, he says. due to the combined capacity of the facility decreasing by 32 residents, and those who remain in the memory care unit will be receiving a lower level of care and assistance than that provided in a skilled nursing home.

At press time, Gamache waits for the license from RIDOH and certification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to be approved that enables the opening of the new assisted living memory care program. 

“There is no reason while this approval shouldn’t happen,” says Gamache. “We can comply with all the regulations, we’ve identified an overwhelming community need, and we are saving the state a lot of money,” he quipped. 

“After all, this is a win/win for the state, for residents, their families and staff to enable Aldersbridge Communities continue operating a full continuum of care,” states Gamache.