FROM THE PUBLISHER
Cheers to Good Health
“ Time and health are two precious assets that we don ’ t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted .” – Denis Waitley , author and inspirational speaker
Drawing Closer
Four Hundred Years of Drawing from the RISD Museum
March 12 – Sept . 3 , 2022
Anton Løvenberg , Study of a Sculptural Male Torso ( detail ), 1800s . Gift of Frederick Lovenberg .
RISDMUSEUM . ORG
MEAGHAN SUSI
To your health .
Another trip around the sun and we are back to May and our annual ode to physicians in Rhode Island . Every year , we ask physicians of all types and specialties to rank their colleagues . The premise is , “ If you needed to refer a family member to a doctor for care , whom would you choose ?”
The results of the surveys are checked and double-checked as are affiliations and all other key information . Is it perfect ? No . But we strive to make it as close as possible .
Over the years , we have been accused of selecting physicians that advertise . Since we do not choose them , that is not true . We have also been criticized for being too Providence-centric with results . Since two of the largest health care systems in our state are in the capital city , that is an unavoidable reality .
We all have an appreciation for health care professionals , especially given the past two years of collective fear and trepidation . There are many stories about the lasting mental and physical health conditions that many continue to deal with day in and day out .
But many , I believe , fail to realize that the nurses and doctors we expect to rise above are not infallible nor without human frailties .
Associate Editor Lauren Clem , who joined our staff earlier this year , tackles her first significant feature story for Rhode Island Monthly in “ Taking a Toll ,” which explores the mental and physical impact the pandemic has had on those charged with caring for others . Often , their focus on the trauma and intensity of COVID on the front lines took precedent over self-care and well-being . While the height of the crisis ( thankfully ) may have subsided , they , too , suffer the consequences .
Anyone who has had to deal with a family member or friend with Alzheimer ’ s disease is also aware of the emotional and psychological toll that is the fate of those closest . Contributing Editor Ellen Liberman chronicles her journey with her mother in “ What Remains .”
Lastly , speaking about trips around the sun , this issue marks the beginning of a benchmark occasion — our thirty-fifth year . We have plans to take a nostalgic look back , on occasion , of more than three decades of documenting life in the Ocean State .
To the Rhode ahead . – J . J . P .
12 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY 2022