Corrections Director Ashbel T. Wall II recently announced that Michael Fine, M.D., of Scituate, R.I., will serve as the Department’s Medical Program Director. He began his work at the Department on February 1st.
Dr. Fine brings excellent credentials and a 30-year background in both private and public health care. He is a recognized leader in family and community medicine and has worked in both hospital and community settings. He also has skills as an administrator, knowledge of health care policy, and an extensive network of contacts across the state and nationwide. Director Wall notes, “Dr. Fine is passionate about quality health services and sophisticated about working in institutional settings. He is also warm, engaging, and enthusiastic about the opportunities this position presents.”
Having focused on disenfranchised communities throughout his career, Dr. Fine was a logical choice for his newest position. He is Managing Director of HealthAccess RI in Foster. He previously served as Physician-in-Chief with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital and in that same position at The Miriam Hospital. He is past Director of Continuing Medical Education at Rhode Island and the Miriam Hospitals, Vice President and a founder of the Scituate Health Alliance, and Vice-Chair of the Board of Crossroads RI. From 1992-2008, he served as Founder and Physician Operating Officer with Hillside Avenue Family & Community Medicine. He currently has privileges at Rhode Island, Women and Infants, and The Miriam Hospitals. He also serves as Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of
Dr. Fine received his Doctor of Medicine from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and his Bachelor of Arts from Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. He is a member of numerous professional organizations including the Rhode Island Medical Society, the Rhode Island Academy of Family Physicians, Physicians for Human Rights, the American Public Health Association, the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. His many publications include The Nature of Health, published by Oxford Radcliffe Publishing in 2007, and The Zero Calorie Diet, published by Red House Press in 2010.
The recipient of several prestigious awards, Dr. Fine was a Visiting Scholar in 2009 with the Robert Graham Center in Washington, D.C., and in 2008 he held the John Cunningham Professorship in Family Medicine with the Department of Family Medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island. Dr Fine was an Open Society Institute/George Soros Fellow in Medicine as a Profession from 2000-2002. Also of note is that he was an invited guest to the White House for the presentation of President Clinton’s Health Care Reform Plan back in 1993, and served on the National Health Policy Council to the Obama campaign.
As Medical Program Director, Dr. Fine will oversee a staff of more than 100 health professionals, including Primary Care Physicians, Psychiatrists, Surgical and Medical Specialists, Dentists and Dental Hygienists, Mental and Behavioral Health Specialists, Addiction Specialists, Health Promotion Specialists, Medical Records Specialists, Nurses and Nurse Practitioners.