PCHC’s Olneyville Health Center to close at end of July. What's behind the decision

PROVIDENCE – The Olneyville Health Center at 100 Curtis St. will close its doors July 31, cutting off a source of primary health care for thousands in one of Providence’s poorest neighborhoods.

The news comes as the center's owner, Providence Community Health Centers – the only federally qualified health center in Providence – also recently laid off about 40 employees in its Accountable Entity who were charged with ensuring that the nonprofit’s most vulnerable patients have access to health care.

Shortage of doctors, Medicaid reimbursement rate, drugmakers blamed

PCHC spokesperson Brett Davey attributed the closure, which he described as temporary, to a national shortage of primary providers. An internal memo from PCHC CEO Merrill Thomas from June 28 also noted that Rhode Island’s “inadequate state Medicaid reimbursement rate” and “manufacturer attacks on our 340B Drug Pricing Program” – a federal program that provides medications at a significantly reduced cost – “have placed our organization in an unsustainable negative financial position” leading to staff layoffs and the closure of the Olneyville Health Center.

Davey said PCHC is negotiating with the state to improve Medicaid reimbursement rates.

“Having sufficient rates will help us hire more primary care providers,” he added.

About 70% of PCHC’s patients are insured by Medicaid, with the rest on private insurance (15%), Medicare (5%) or uninsured (10%).

Clinic handles thousands, including people without insurance

The clinic serves about 4,500 patients, according to Davey. PCHC sites accept patients regardless of insurance status and offer those without insurance a sliding scale of fees based on income and family size. In 2021 about 21% of Olneyville residents under age 65 were uninsured, the second-highest rate of uninsurance in Providence.

Davey said that patients of the Olneyville Health Center will receive care at PCHC’s other sites, primarily at its 31 Atwood St. location, a little less than a mile south. He said transportation will be provided for patients who need it.

The Atwood Street location opened in 2022 and offers services such as family medicine, behavioral health, pediatrics, lab work, obstetrics and gynecology and express care, among others.

“The reality is, we cannot continue to run two half-filled sites. Without an immediate increase in primary care providers, consolidation is the answer,” Davey said.

All clinicians and care teams from the Olneyville Health Center will move to other PCHC sites, according to Davey. About 15 staff are union members and have a bargaining agreement that protects them from layoffs, and will have some say in their transfers, said Jesse Martin, executive vice president of SEIU 1199 NE.

Davey did not provide a date when the 100 Curtis St. clinic might reopen, saying it would depend on PCHC’s ability to hire more primary care providers.