7 minute read
SOMETHING NEW
SOMETHING NEW SPOTLIGHT
HIDDEN TREASURES? Jaclyn “Jackie” Trudel opened Jackie on Broadway consignment and artisan jewelry shop in East Providence in 2022.
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PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
A store that offers thrill of the hunt
BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA |
Chiappa@PBN.com
HEALING HANDS: Amy E. Smith, one of the two owners of Roots Specialty Services LLC in Providence, a studio offering physical therapy, yoga and massage services, works on Shariah Landry from Cranston.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
Holistic care takes root
FOR JACLYN “JACKIE” TRUDEL, secondhand shopping is a lot like hunting.
It’s navigating aisles, rummaging through racks of clothing, scanning every corner for the perfect, one-of-a-kind treasure.
It’s that thrill that she is hoping customers experience at Jackie on Broadway, her women’s consignment clothing and artisan jewelry shop in the Rumford section of East Providence.
Trudel’s store is only 8 months old, but her passion for environmentally conscious shopping is much older, motivated by years of research into the damage clothing waste can cause. And when the COVID-19 pandemic led her to reconsider her career path, settling on this new business venture was a “nobrainer.”
Now she sells secondhand clothes and accessories out of her shop, helping customers find the best deals, and partners with local jewelry shops and artisans to help them sell their products. This is yet another passion close to Trudel’s heart, who has a certificate in jewelry making and metalsmithing from the Rhode Island School of Design.
“I have an appreciation for how much work goes into each piece of jewelry,” Trudel said. “And it was important to me to help out local jewelry artists.” n
Physical therapist offers yoga, massage BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com
FOR AMY E. SMITH, physical therapy is about much more than getting over a physical injury. It’s about fostering a relationship with the client, encouraging mental and spiritual healing. It’s what led her to leave her job as a physical therapist at an outpatient practice and founding Roots Specialty Services LLC in 2020, where she could rely on her own approach.
“It was a giant leap of faith. It was really intimidating to stick out and say let’s see how this goes,” Smith said.
Unsatisfied with traditional physical therapy practices that she felt could never truly help some of the clients with more-complex needs, Smith decided to turn to a more holistic approach to physical therapy – an approach that takes into account the mental and emotional well-being of the patients.
“This is what excites me, helping people make significant changes in their life,” Smith said. “Seeing physical therapy as not just a way to heal physical injury but tap into the mental, emotional component.”
The next two years were marked by slow but steady growth: from what she calls a tiny “closet” across the hall from her current location, Roots grew into its current space, equipped with a gym, a yoga studio and three treatment room suites. Despite a small hiccup brought by the COVID-19 outbreak, which forced Smith to temporarily shift to virtual classes, her fledgling business bloomed into a thriving one mostly through word-of-mouth: one client led to two, to three and eventually to today’s buzzing studio.
There, Smith and 11 other employees offer clients services ranging from one-on-one physical therapy sessions to yoga and massage therapy. Much of her approach focuses on “working with the person in front of us, focusing on not just what hurts them but getting to know them, learning their background, what’s important to them, what their goals are,” Smith said. From there, she is able to build a personalized approach that can heal even chronic conditions.
The most recent expansion was the addition of the Roots Yoga + Movement program and massage therapy services in October 2022. The new yoga program, open to the public, offers small, intimate classes for eight to 10 people, dedicated to teaching them how to move safely while building a community.
It’s not just her professional life that’s deeply entangled with Roots, but her personal life too: for some time now, Smith’s wife, Emily, has been working alongside her as a co-owner and taking care of all financial and operational aspects of the business. It’s the dream team, Smith said.
“It’s challenging but special when you get to step back and look at the success,” Smith said.
Another pillar of Roots is the practice’s commitment to inclusivity. As members of the LGBTQ+ community, Smith said she and Emily recognize how important it is to offer safe spaces for the community, where people can feel safe and welcome.
“It’s part of the fabric of our being. We recognize the need to put this out there and be a resource for the queer community in Providence,” Smith said.
The goal for 2023? Consistency and stability, Smith said.
“We planted the seeds and now we want to watch them grow,” Smith said. n
HOT TOPIC
What’s R.I.’s answer to breaches?
BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com
THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND hasn’t been immune to major data breaches – the latest example being an R.I. Department of Health mishap that exposed the protected information of nearly 9,000 people last summer and fall.
So what is the government’s top technology agency doing to prevent future security breakdowns across all state departments?
It’s been four months since Bijay Kumar left his job as the state’s chief information officer and chief digital officer, a position in which he also supervised the R.I. Division of Information Technology.
The CIO/CDO “is ultimately responsible for the cybersecurity of state systems and the implementation of protective measures and controls with state departments to protect their sensitive data,” said R.I. Department of Administration spokesperson Laura Hart. “As such, both the agency involved and the Division of Information Technology share responsibility for any data breach response.”
The state is still in the process of finding a long-term replacement for Kumar. Chief Information Security Officer Brian Tardiff is in the position on an interim basis, Hart said.
Meanwhile, RIDOH and the R.I. Public Transit Authority are separately resolving security issues that affected a combined total of close to 30,000 Rhode Island residents.
In December, RIDOH revealed it had accidentally shared the health information of about 8,800 people a few months earlier.
In that instance, RIDOH staff accidentally included a link to a document containing thousands of individuals’ COVID-19 isolation and quarantine information in email messages. The document also included personal details such as phone numbers and addresses.
Hart said the state’s IT division responded and “an assessment of sensitive data storage and sharing protocols was executed, as were additional cybersecurity and data hygiene training with agency staff.”
In August 2021, a cyberattack against RIPTA, which also breached UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc. data shared with the agency, compromised the personal data of more than 20,000 current and former state employees. The American Civil
Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc.
has since filed a class-action lawsuit against RIPTA and UnitedHealthcare.
Hart noted that the quasi-public transit agency isn’t directly supported by the state IT division, but it “did share best practices with the RIPTA team and recommended an external cybersecurity assessment.”
The RIPTA lawsuit has highlighted a state mechanism directed at cybersecurity: when a data breach affects at least 500 people, the law requires the R.I. Office of the Attorney General to investigate.
Federal law also encourages state attorneys general to cooperate with the U.S. government when health care privacy laws are involved,
The RIPTA investigation is ongoing. Brian Hodge, spokesperson for Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, said the office “continues to pursue all available authorities to ensure the protection of personal information in the custody of state agencies, as well as accountability for failure to safeguard this information.”
In general, states benefit from a multipronged approach to cybersecurity, said Leah Rosenbloom, a doctoral candidate in cryptography and privacy at Brown University.
Best practices typically look at cybersecurity in stages, Rosenbloom said, starting with preventative measures and ending with accountability and reparations for those affected.
That includes “a larger system of transparency and communication between state departments,” Rosenbloom said, and “making sure there’s some kind of coordinated effort for data security.” n
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