Cathren is a community collaborative artist who has been working with the Community Libraries of Providence and other non-profits since 2012, developing arts and literacy programs and creating public art installations. She has been an artist in residence at Hattie Ide Chaffee Home since 2023, implementing visual arts and health programs with seniors and dementia patients. Website: ArtHouseRI.com
Dear C and Dr. B; On Saturday at 3pm I received a frantic call from my 14-year-old daughter, who was home alone while we were out. There was someone at the door, ringing the doorbell a lot! She said a red minivan was parked in our driveway. She was huddled in her room with the […]
Christmas Day may be a time for many of us to relax and enjoy festivities and food with family and friends, but for medical workers, it’s often just business as usual. Illness doesn’t take a holiday; in fact, for those in the medical profession, the holidays are often the busiest time of the year. Emergency rooms […]
Dear Dr. B: I have been researching mushrooms and read that there are some that can help with my depression better than the medications that doctors keep trying to give me. What are your thoughts about these? They are not only free, but grow in the woods behind my house. Backwoods Bob Dear Bob: […]
Dear C and Dr. B; As a mother, I am deeply affected by the recent headlines — more mass shootings and calls from our president to have armed guards to protect every religious organization and school. My daughter attends a religious school, and I fear sending her to school tomorrow. I hate the uncertainty and […]
The 2018–2019 flu season is upon us and every pharmacy in the state has signs up urging people to get vaccinated. There was a small line when I dropped by CVS at 12:45pm. I asked the man in front of me, “Here for the flu shot?” He grimaced. “I never used to get them, but […]
Dear C and Dr. B; I’m in my third year of undergrad. Last weekend at a party, I admit that both myself and my date, Sandra, had too much to drink. We ended up doing it in the coat room, which was probably a bad idea, but she was as much into it as I […]
Change does not come easily to the medical community. In 1847, after witnessing countless post childbirth and surgical deaths, Dr. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis did some experiments and realized that if physicians washed their hands, it could prevent most incidents of “childbed fever,” along with the infections that invariably occurred after surgeries. His absurd notion made […]
Dear C and Dr. B; I was assigned to a year-long product development project in partnership with the head of our company, Larry. He was responsible for half of the tasks involved. The project was very complex and involved gathering information and developing models over many months. Everything was going well — then Larry’s wife […]
Dear C and Dr. B; I read your post on “Free the Nipple,” the movement that says that for true gender equality, wherever its appropriate for a man to be topless, it should be for a woman too. I looked it up, and found that there are between 10 and 33 states that allow for toplessness […]
There are two lessons that are burned into every American’s brain as we live and grow. Want a refresher course? All you have to do is watch one hour of television to hear them all over again: Symptoms don’t mean anything. They are just annoying pests that get in our way, and there’s no reason […]