A URI medical school is a decade away. This residency program can make a difference next year. • Rhode Island Current

A URI medical school is a decade away. This residency program can make a difference next year. • Rhode Island Current

Creating a new family medicine residency program offers both short- and long-term benefits for Rhode Island. (Photo by 9dreamstudio/Getty image)Rhode Island faces a chronic shortage of primary care physicians — the state needs approximately 133 to 266 more, according to an estimate by Dr. Michael Fine, the former director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, Earlier this year, state legislators endorsed a new publicly funded medical school …