Pain Centers Open E.P. Satellite

To accommodate the growing number of patients with chronic pain in the East Bay and greater East Providence area, a Steward Center for Pain Management of Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River has opened a satellite location here.

The pain center is located in the Coastal Medical building, 900 Warren Ave., East Providence. 

Patients at the new East Providence site have access to the program’s model of chronic pain management, according to a press release from the center. The program incorporates advanced medical, psychological and lifestyle care and technologies to eliminate or reduce chronic pain.  

According to the American Pain Foundation, pain is a growing public health crisis that affects an estimated 76.5 million Americans each year.  In fact: 

Twenty-six percent – more than one in every four – of adults age 20 and over report that they have had a problem with pain that persisted for more than 24 hours in duration. In fact, chronic pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. 

 An estimated 20% of American adults (42 million people) report that pain or physical discomfort disrupts their sleep a few nights a week or more.

 The annual cost of chronic pain in the United States, including healthcare expenses, lost income, and lost productivity, is estimated to be $100 billion.

Since its inception in 1994 at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Mass., the Steward Centers for Pain Management have experienced growth that reflects these national trends. 

The centers began as a small clinic with one physician and one nurse in response to area physicians’ requests. Saint Anne’s center has grown to include four sites for pain management in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and has become the region’s largest and most comprehensive program for the treatment of chronic pain. 

The pain center's main campus is in Swansea, Mass. Additional satellite sites are at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and Hawthorn Medical Associates in North Dartmouth, Mass.

Saint Anne’s pain specialists treat a wide range of chronic pain conditions. Treatment may include a combination of approaches, including a wide range of interventional procedures, physical conditioning, medication management, behavioral medicine components, such as relaxation training and stress management, and psychological interventions to address depression and anxiety that often accompany chronic pain.

The new Rhode Island pain management satellite offers a team of physicians; registered nurses and nurse practitioners who are board-certified in pain management; licensed mental health counselors; and rehabilitation specialists. Dr. Eric Dominguez is the center’s medical director, and Kristine Walker, MS, RN-BC, NE-BC, is executive director of pain management services. 

The Steward Centers for Pain Management are accepting patients by physician referral.  For more information, visit www.steward.org/painmanagement or call the center, toll-free, at 1-888-675-PAIN (1-888-675-7246).