My RI LIfe: Dr. Megan Ranney

I’ve been a Rhode Island resident since 2004. I came to Rhode Island for my training in emergency medicine. Almost 20 years later, I still proudly work as an emergency physician in the ERs at Rhode Island Hospital and the Miriam Hospital, but these days you’ll see me there mostly on evenings and weekends. My day job now goes far beyond emergency medicine. 

During daytime hours, I work on my research (I study how technology can both cause and can help prevent violence, depression, and related problems among adolescents and adults); lead the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health (created to facilitate the development and dissemination of effective digital health tools – like apps, social media programs, and wearables – that improve the health of both patients and populations); and serve as Associate Dean for Strategy & Innovation in the School of Public Health. I also serve as co-founder of AFFIRM Research, a non-profit dedicated to creating non-partisan public health approaches to firearm injury; we lead community efforts to talk honestly about, and reduce, the risk factors for gun violence, gun suicide, and other types of gun-related injuries.  Additionally, last March, I co-founded a non-profit, GetUsPPE, to try to get donated personal protective equipment delivered to those who need it most. We initially focused on doctors, nurses, and other frontline healthcare workers; we’ve since expanded our work to provide donations to teachers and other school staff, shelters, food banks, and other essential services that are lacking adequate protection from COVID. 

This past year has been challenging, on so many levels. Everything about my life – all of our lives – has been turned upside down. We’ve lost huge things, like friends and family. But we’ve also lost the little moments: it feels like Groundhog Day, every darn day. As a frontline healthcare provider, I know how important it is to protect my friends and family from COVID-19 by avoiding indoor dining, parties, and the like. But it is so, so exhausting to miss out on the small celebrations, the birthday parties and playdates and holiday get-togethers. 

I’m thankful for our local community that has helped each other out and kept us all grounded. I’m particularly thankful for the amazing work of our school districts in getting many of our kids back into in-person classes in a way that keeps both kids and school staff safe. As I work nationally on issues related to COVID, I’m shocked by how many districts remain closed. East Greenwich has served as an example of how to do this right. 

I’m also thankful for the ingenuity of local businesses. I love putting in my remote order (Lavender Latte!) at the Nook; getting takeout chicken parm from Fresco, margarita pizza from Victor’s, and fried rice from Dragon Palace; and for the ability to support local businesses, like Arden Jewelry, whose mask chain accompanied me to a photo shoot for RI Monthly and to the Inauguration, and Sprigs, whose plants have kept my middle schooler happy despite the innumerable hours of distance learning! 

And I’m impressed by how friends and community members have developed ways to stay connected and take care of each other despite COVID-19. Whether through outdoor, socially distanced get-togethers, food drives run by local teens (I’m looking at you, Sara Maggio!) or the Boy Scouts’ creative ways to keep the Pinewood Derby safely running, I’ve been touched by how many people have gone the extra mile this year for the sake of our kids, our elderly, and our most at-risk. It would be so easy to descend into selfishness in the face of the pandemic. Those who have had the ability to rise above, have given me hope.

Most of all, I’m excited to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I received my vaccination against COVID in mid-December, and my 2nd dose in early January. I’m now fully protected against the virus. My parents will be vaccinated by mid-March, and with luck my husband and our friends will have the opportunity to get their shot soon after. I can’t emphasize what a turning point this vaccine is. We now know that the vaccines are more effective against the new variants of COVID-19 than natural immunity. We also know that the vaccines reduce not just the risk of getting sick yourself, but also the chance of spreading the virus to others. Once the majority of adults have been vaccinated, we will be able to move back towards normal. And I, for one, cannot wait.

Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of Doctor Megan Ranney