DOCTORS ’ NOTES
The Ties That Bind
Lifespan is now Brown University Health .
BY KRIS CAMBRA
After five decades of affiliation , Lifespan Health System and Brown announced a set of expanded agreements that will strengthen patient care , medical education , and biomedical research in Rhode Island .
As part of the agreements , Lifespan changed its name to Brown University Health , enhancing its ability to recruit and retain world-class physicians and reflecting a deeper alignment between its clinical care and Brown ’ s academic and research focus .
“ Brown and Lifespan are taking important steps to strengthen our longstanding affiliation with the goal of improving the health of families in Rhode Island , both through medical advances in care and state-of-the-art medical training for the next generation of physicians ,” Brown University President Christina H . Paxson said .
The agreements include reciprocal financial investments between Brown University Health and Brown , which will continue as separate , independent organizations .
Brown University Health CEO John Fernandez reveals their new look .
PHOTOGRAPH : ADAM MASTOON
The Mindful Golfer
On the links , success is all in your head .
BY CHRISTOPHER PARISH
Richard Goldberg It ’ s seldom difficult for your plays a few rounds at writer to become engrossed Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk , MA . in a deep conversation about the game of golf , but when talking about its numerous frustrations and lamenting my lack of skill on the putting green , Richard Goldberg , MD , MS , stops me mid-sentence and points animatedly .
“ That way of talking ,” he says , “ is why you ’ ll never get better .”
For Goldberg , a professor emeritus of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown , the mental side of the game and not any single swing fault is what holds many golfers back . In his book , Better Golf , Better Life , Goldberg applies his decades of psychiatry experience to formulate a set of deeply held principles for success on ( and off ) the golf course .
Using a mix of Eastern philosophy , meditation techniques , and other fundamentals such as stressing the importance of a pre-shot routine , Goldberg ’ s psychological approach has golfers of all skill levels lining up for lessons of the mind , not the body .
“ Golf is an exploration of who we are ,” he says . “ We play golf to become better people , not just better golfers .”
Goldberg and some friends started the Dalai Lama Golf Association many years ago — a reference to the classic golf film Caddyshack — but beyond the humor , Goldberg began to see true lessons in the movie ’ s references to the mental side of the game .
The former psychiatrist-in-chief of Rhode Island Hospital and senior vice president of psychiatry and behavioral health at Lifespan isn ’ t alone in espousing the virtues of performance psychology in golf . A recent Netflix documentary , Full Swing , shows pro golfer Wyndham Clark meeting with a sports psychologist — and how that ultimately led him to a US Open title .
“ Great golf emerges from an integrated and balanced orchestration of multiple brain functions ,” Goldberg writes in his book . “ Emotional and physical overreactions on the golf course disrupt the balance that make it possible for us to perform at our best .”
4 HEALTH DISCOVERIES @ BROWN l WINTER 2025