In the absence of President Pete Brock, who was visiting Rome, President-elect Bill Applegate presided over the meeting.
Pledge
George Babcock led the Pledge of Allegiance after a Boston Celtics quiz.
Inspiration
Cap Willey was inspired by the NFL draft this weekend. There may be some hope for our beleaguered Patriots. I think that they did a pretty good job and appeared to fill most of the gaps in the team that they needed to address. We only have 129 days until the NFL season begins. In the meantime, we are looking for the Celtics to repeat as NBA champions and hope that the Red Sox can find their way into the playoffs. Hope springs eternal.
I do look to some of our great philosophers for guidance:
- “The greatest accomplishment is not in never failing, but in rising again after you fall.” – Vince Lombardi
- “Talent is God-given, be humble; fame is man given, be grateful; conceit is self-given, be careful.”
– John Wooden basketball coach
(I think that Shedeur Sanders should have learned that as he dropped from expecting to be a top five draftee to finally being drafted at 144 in the fifth round)
- “I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in practice and not in the game.” – Bear Bryant coach
- “If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education.”
– Minnesota coach
- “The man who complains about the way that the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.”
– Lou Holtz Notre Dame coach
- And from the all-time great philosopher, Yogi Berra who said, “You wouldn't have won if we'd beaten you.”
On Zoom
Sam New, Gregg Lemoi, Paul Pimental, and Wendy Marcus
Guests
Elaine Fain and Tony Bucci, a visiting Warwick Rotarian.
Anthony Hollingshead introduced Bill Efthimiades, finance director and treasurer at Swan Point Cemetery; Matt Sharrio, Merritt, a new corporate member, and Chris Stevenson who just submitted a membership application to join the Club.
PJ Fox introduced his boss, Attorney General Peter Neronha and his colleagues Megan Skinner, Deputy Communications Director and Bill Paiva, BCI investigator.
Announcements
Blood Drive
Bill Applegate is donating blood at the Rhode Island Blood Center today. You can still call for an appointment to donate. Mention the Club Number 0792 upon arrival, and our Club will receive credit for your donation. (Actually, the number is good for any donation that you make into the future.)
Literacy
Art Norwalk announced that on May 21, the Club will present 400 books to children at George J. West Elementary School. These books are written and illustrated by award-winning professionals who live in Rhode Island. Additional information will be provided soon.
Happy Bucks
- Bill Applegate was happy to welcome guest speaker, Peter Neronha, RI Attorney General and to see our good friend Wendy Marcus on Zoom.
- Anthony Landi gave $5 for his son completing an internship at New Wealth Advisors, with an invitation to continue working there this summer.
- Jane Berkowitz gave $5 for everyone who helped put labels on books for Providence school’s classroom libraries. Additionally, because Friday’s presentation at Kizirian was so successful.
- Art Norwalk had $20 happy bucks for the session on Friday with Kizirian students. The students showed appreciation for the books they received by presenting the Club with thank you cards they had made. Art also attended a screening of Article 92, a movie starring the Club’s late former president, Steve Hug. Completed just before his death, it will be on Prime in a few months.
- Michaela Hermann was happy to complete her health coaching program.
- Emily Bernstein was happy to share that she is leaving for a six-week trip to Germany, Switzerland, England and Amsterdam, where she will attend a Rotary Club meeting.
- Lew Hassell was happy because his youngest son is graduating from college – three children through college!
- Anthony was happy to recognize Bill Efthimiades for his great work as Swan Point Cemetery, he makes Anthony look good!
- Bill Efthimiades had a happy buck for the good weather.
Speaker
Peter Neronha, RI Attorney General
The Attorney General highlighted Rhode Island's health care system challenges and emphasized the need to address them. Health care has been his priority for four years as a regulator. Any changes in ownership or mergers, such as the sale of Fatima and Roger Williams Hospitals to a private equity firm and the Lifespan-Brown Medical merger, must be approved by the Attorney General and the RI Health Department.
A major problem with health care and particularly primary care in R.I. is low reimbursement rates, lower than Massachusetts and Connecticut. Many existing doctors are choosing to retire, switch to concierge medicine, or leaving the state. There is little incentive for new physicians to practice in R.I.
Healthcare revenue comes from commercial insurance (highest), Medicare, and Medicaid (lowest). Reimbursement varies based on patients' insurance. Medicaid covers many uninsured working individuals whose employers do not provide medical coverage. Roger Williams and Fatima hospitals struggle because they have many Medicaid and Medicare patients, which leads to lower revenue. Brown Medical chose to purchase hospitals in Massachusetts rather than in R.I. to increase their system’s revenue.
The Attorney General points to the recent closure of Anchor Medical that left 25,000 patients without primary care physicians as an example of how low reimbursement rates is making primary care in R.I. unsustainable. He proposes that the state raise Medicaid rates to match those of Massachusetts and Connecticut. He stresses that healthcare is essential, like education and infrastructure, and should be mandatory. While healthcare costs are inevitable, improvements are needed. Despite long awareness and study, solutions remain delayed.
