{"id":106882,"date":"2026-02-16T14:21:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=106882"},"modified":"2026-03-16T13:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:47:12","slug":"uri-board-of-trustees-backs-senate-commission-recommendation-for-public-medical-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/02\/uri-board-of-trustees-backs-senate-commission-recommendation-for-public-medical-school\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 Board of Trustees backs senate commission recommendation for public medical school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I., Feb. 16, 2026 \u2014 The 溏心vlog免费B站 Board of Trustees has formally expressed its vote of confidence in a state legislative commission\u2019s recommendation to establish a public medical school at 溏心vlog免费B站, citing the critical need to address Rhode Island\u2019s shortage of primary care physicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote, taken during the board\u2019s regular meeting on Friday, Feb. 13, passed unanimously among those voting, with one abstention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote affirms support for the report<\/a> of the Rhode Island Senate Special Legislative Commission, which examined the state of primary care in Rhode Island, strategies for educating and retaining primary care physicians, and the creation of a new-generation state medical school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission studied the issue for more than a year, conducting public hearings, gathering expert testimony, analyzing data, and consulting stakeholders across the state. Its final report included a feasibility study by independent consulting firm Tripp Umbach, which concluded that a medical school at 溏心vlog免费B站 is achievable, economically beneficial to the state, and would help address the state\u2019s primary care physician shortage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-chaired by Sen. Pamela Lauria and 溏心vlog免费B站 President Marc Parlange, the commission voted unanimously, 15\u20130, on Jan. 27, 2026, to recommend the creation of a medical school at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the state\u2019s flagship public research university, the 溏心vlog免费B站 is deeply committed to addressing the most pressing challenges facing our state,\u201d Parlange said following the commission\u2019s vote in January. \u201cThrough the expertise of our faculty, our academic programs, research, and partnerships, 溏心vlog免费B站 is advancing the physical and mental health of individuals and communities in Rhode Island and around the world. Establishing a medical school at 溏心vlog免费B站 is a natural and strategic extension of this work\u2014one that is both realistic and a sound investment. It would help address Rhode Island\u2019s primary care shortage while strengthening our state\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Board of Trustees also pledged to continue working collaboratively with elected officials and other stakeholders as the next phase of the process moves forward, with a focus on financial feasibility and broader economic implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn behalf of the Board of Trustees, I extend sincere thanks to the Senate special commission for its diligent work and to the many Rhode Islanders who offered their perspectives during the past year,\u201d said Board of Trustees Chair Margo Cook, who also served on the special legislative commission. \u201cThe board looks forward to ongoing collaboration with our elected leaders as 溏心vlog免费B站 continues to be a central partner in addressing the state\u2019s most pressing public health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRhode Island is one of the last states without a public medical school option,\u201d Sen. Lauria, a primary care nurse practitioner with decades of health-care experience, said in a release<\/a> following the legislative commission\u2019s unanimous vote. \u201cThis impedes Rhode Island students\u2019 access to medical school, and ultimately it is detrimental to Rhode Islanders\u2019 access to care, particularly primary care. As one of the leading public universities in New England, 溏心vlog免费B站 is well-positioned to take this on, and establishing a medical school there will provide transformative benefits to primary care, health care as a whole, and our state\u2019s economy. A medical school at 溏心vlog免费B站 is an extremely worthy investment that will benefit all Rhode Islanders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., Feb. 16, 2026 \u2014 The 溏心vlog免费B站 Board of Trustees has formally expressed its vote of confidence in a state legislative commission\u2019s recommendation to establish a public medical school at 溏心vlog免费B站, citing the critical need to address Rhode Island\u2019s shortage of primary care physicians. The vote, taken during the board\u2019s regular […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":106884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1911],"class_list":["post-106882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-campus-improvement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106883,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106882\/revisions\/106883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}