The Rhode Island Foundation has announced $1.8 million in grants to seven organizations working to build a stronger primary care system and expand access to regular sources of care across the state.

Awarded through the foundation's Fund for a Healthy Rhode Island, the grants include $375,000 to Thundermist Health Center to open Quick Care centers that help reduce reliance on emergency rooms; $358,582 to the Women's Medicine Collaborative at Miriam Hospital to pilot the Shared Medical Appointments Program for primary care patients and patients with chronic illnesses; and $352,510 to Butler Hospital to facilitate cooperation among psychologists, family physicians, and psychiatrists, as well as expand teaching in integrated care for psychology and family medicine trainees.

The foundation also awarded $217,852 to Tri-Town Community Action Agency to introduce its full spectrum of healthcare services to the recently purchased North Providence Community Center; $200,000 to the Rhode Island Free Clinic to expand primary care access and preventive health care to uninsured, working poor, and low-income residents; $196,056 to the East Bay Community Action Program to increase its clinical staff and hours of service hours at sites in Newport and East Providence; and $100,000 to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England in support of the Rhode Island Fund for Access, which subsidizes the cost of preventive family planning and care for uninsured low-income patients.

The $20 million Fund for a Healthy Rhode Island, which was established in 2008 as part of a settlement between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island and the U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island, also supports a loan-forgiveness program for primary care providers practicing in the state.

"One of the foundation's priorities is to help ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to quality, affordable primary care," said Rhode ISland Foundation president and CEO Neil D. Steinberg. "We are pleased to support these seven high-impact programs that will benefit thousands of people statewide by improving access and providing primary care in new, creative ways."