It is a Friday afternoon in July and an ice cream truck is serving free treats to dozens of patients and staff at our Atwood Health Center. They have gathered to celebrate the incredible career of Dr. Lonice Thomas, a pediatrician with Providence Community Health Centers who is retiring after a 40-year career of caring for children and families. For many in attendance, Dr. Thomas has been their family’s pediatrician for generations.

When Dr. Thomas joined Providence Community Health Centers in July 1985, she provided pediatric care at three of our health centers. Early in her career, she and her fellow pediatricians were on call one day a week and one weekend a month. They also rounded on patients at Women & Infants Hospital and several other local hospitals that treated pediatric patients at the time.

Delivering care then was quite different; being on call meant knowing where all the pay phones in the community were located. “I remember once going to a PawSox game and the pay phone was directly below a loudspeaker!” she recalls.

“There were fewer vaccines then; it was easier in some ways for doctors, nurses, and patients, but there were a lot more sick kids with serious illnesses like meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis,” she said. “We had nowhere to send kids on weekends except the Emergency Room, so we did a lot of phone triaging. Many of our patients were still arriving from refugee camps in Thailand and acclimating themselves to the Western world so that was an additional challenge.”

On her first day at PCHC, Dr. Thomas was immediately put to work when the doctor she was supposed to shadow was late. A full waiting room prompted a nurse to ask, “Can you just start seeing patients?”

“So I did!” she recalls.

Dr. Thomas discovered her love for pediatrics almost by accident. “During my OB/GYN rotation, I kept finding myself hanging out by the baby in the delivery room instead of the mother like I was supposed to,” she said. “I love kids and find them very entertaining and inspiring. They all start out so pure, precious, and innocent, and it’s an honor to care for them.”

Dr. Thomas has many great memories of her time at PCHC including a large collection of drawings that her patients made for her. One that really stands out was a drawing of the Guatemalan flag. Written across it was “Linda Guatemala. My parents crossed the border so I could cross the stage. I am a DACA student. Proud immigrant daughter.” She cherishes the generations of children that have been in her care.

“Our families are wonderful and so grateful for everything we do for them. Getting to watch the kids grow and then having many of them bring their own children to me is so rewarding,” she said. “I feel like we are all part of each other’s families. Another special thing is getting to care for kids with developmental disabilities or complex medical issues. The parents are so dedicated to caring for their children. It’s inspiring!”

Dr. Thomas will be recognized as PCHC’s awardee at the Rhode Island Health Center Association’s Beacon Awards event on August 7. In retirement, she plans to travel, volunteer, and get back to her hobbies of quilting and knitting. No matter what she does, her decades at PCHC will remain close to her heart.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to care for these families and work with such dedicated PCHC employees,” said Dr. Thomas.