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Family Medicine

Primary Care Diabetology

The one-year fellowship in Primary Care Diabetology is designed specifically to train physicians to become experts in diabetes care.

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Primary Care Diabetology

The one-year fellowship in Primary Care Diabetology is designed specifically to train physicians to become experts in diabetes care.

The Diabetology Fellowship at Kent Hospital is designed to train primary care physicians to be experts in the clinical management of patients with complex diabetes. Through our affiliation with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Kent Hospital, and our parent organization, the Care New England (CNE) health system, our fellows will be able to care for patients across the state and in various delivery settings. This will allow for our trainees to be educated in diabetic prevention, glycemic management in both the outpatient and inpatient setting, management and prevention of diabetic complications, and gestational diabetic care.

With this training, fellows will be able to deliver care to all people with diabetes as a diabetologist (a diabetes care specialist) across the care continuum. Fellows will gain proficiency with diabetes medications, insulin management and diabetes care technology including insulin pumps and sensors. Fellows who complete the program are eligible for board certification in diabetology.

Program Curriculum

Fellows will spend time each week training in diabetes technology and ancillary services, including telemedicine, remote monitoring, nutrition and diabetes education, insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring systems. They will attend weekly didactic lectures, participate in journal club sessions, and attend the Primary Care Innovation Series lectures held monthly at the Family Care Center in Pawtucket, RI. The fellows will conduct research and complete scholarly activities, including quality improvement projects. In addition, the fellows will attend the Obesity: Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment continuing medical education course through Columbia University, and will sit for the Obesity Certification exam. This will further strengthen their ability to manage obesity in diabetic patients.

Tentative Schedule:

Monday: Hospital-based DM clinic all day

Tuesday: Outpatient DM clinic all day

Wednesday: Subspecialty clinics on a rotating basis

Thursday: Research and Didactics

Friday: Hospital-based DM clinic all day, with one week per month split between Ob-Gyn and inpatient care

Specialty clinic rotations include:

  • Ob-Gyn
  • Diabetes education
  • Bariatrics
  • Wound Care
  • Endocrinology
  • Nephrology
  • Maternal fetal medicine
  • Cardiology
  • Pediatric diabetes management, including a week of diabetes camp
  • Podiatry
  • Ophthalmology
  • Lipidology
  • Elective

This training will also include diabetes management of hospitalized patients.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Graduate of an accredited family or internal medicine residency program in the United States
  • Excellent academic and clinical record
  • Commitment to the care of underserved populations

For more information, please contact Program Director Leonard Bertheau, DO. 

Application Information

  • Applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now being accepted.
  • The academic year begins in late July. 

To apply, please complete this application form, which requires you to upload a CV and a personal statement.

Please send three letters of reference, one of which must come from your residency program director, to:

Amelia Newburg
Department of Family Medicine
111 Brewster Street
Pawtucket, RI 02860

email: anewburg@carene.org

fax: 401-729-2856

Our Faculty

  • Leonard Bertheau headshot

    Leonard Bertheau, DO

    Program Director, Primary Care Diabetology Fellowship, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Clinician Educator

    Diabetes Care Fellowship: Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
    Family Medicine Residency: Firelands Regional Medical Center, Sandusky, OH
    DO: Oklahoma State University; BS: Washington State University

    Leonard R. Bertheau, DO is a board certified diabetologist. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Bertheau attended Washington State University. After medical school at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Bertheau completed a residency in family practice at Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky, Ohio and a fellowship in diabetes care at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

  • Beatriz DeMoranville headshot

    Beatriz DeMoranville, MD, FACP

    Director, Department of Endocrinology, Kent Hospital, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Clinician Educator

    Beatriz DeMoranville, MD, FACP is the director of the department of endocrinology at Kent Hospital; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Clinical Educator at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University; and board-certified in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. Dr. DeMoranville will be available to deal with more complex patients that require endocrinology input. In addition, she will supervise the fellows when the Fellowship Director is unavailable.

  • Jennifer DeRossi-daCosta headshot

    Jennifer DeRossi-daCosta, RN, BSN

    Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

    Jennifer DeRossi-daCosta, RN, BSN is a Registered Nurse in MA and RI. She is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) and a Certified Diabetes Outpatient Educator (CDOE).  For the past 25 years, Jennifer has worked in Diabetes Programs providing education to adults with Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes, in an outpatient environment.  She is experienced in both the classroom and one to one setting.  She has helped develop the curriculum, educational tools and policies used today.  She also is the Program and quality coordinator of the Diabetes Care and Education Program at CNE; Jenn was responsible for the AADE accreditation of the program in 2020.  Her special interests are insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitors and diabetes in pregnancy. She will support the fellowship in its focus on diabetes education, devices, and remote monitoring.

  • Natalie Laubach

    Natalie Laubach, RD, LDN, CDCES

    Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

    Natalie Laubach, RD, LDN, CDCES has been a Registered Dietitian (RD) for 5 years and is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES). Natalie previously worked as an RD in an hospital setting and transitioned to outpatient care to specialize in diabetes management and chronic disease prevention.  Natalie works with people who have Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, in addition to people with prediabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Her nutrition approach focuses on diabetes prevention and weight loss by helping people transition to a personalized healthy diet that is sustainable for life.

  • Caroline Richardson, MD headshot

    Caroline Richardson, MD

    Chair of Family Medicine, George A. and Marilyn M. Bray Professor of Family Medicine

    Dr. Richardson currently serves as Chair of Family Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. In addition, she serves as editor-in-chief of the Annals of Family Medicine. Previously, Dr. Richardson served associate chair for research programs in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan and as the director of the Veterans Administration Diabetes Quality Improvement Initiative (QUERI). She conducted a multi-site implementation study of the Diabetes Prevention Program for veterans.

    Dr. Richardson is a physical activity and diabetes prevention researcher who emphasizes the importance of using low-cost and scalable approaches to promoting physical activity. Her most recent research focuses on lifestyle change in type 2 diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and low-carb diet coaching. She develops and tests internet-mediated behavioral interventions to increase physical activity, decrease weight and prevent diabetes. Focusing on components of web-based interventions that are interactive and individually tailored, Dr. Richardson builds interventions that are more than just static informational websites. They incorporate objective monitoring, individually tailored feedback and motivational messaging while providing online social support to motivate and engage users.  

    Research Interests: Preventing and reversing Type 2 diabetes, clinical informatics and technology, preventative medicine, physical activity, chronic illness, diabetes prevention, internet-mediated interventions

    Clinical Interests: Physical activity and chronic disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease risk factor modification, health behavior change. 

  • Ron Tutalo headshot

    Ronald Tutalo, PharmD

    Clinical Pharmacist in Ambulatory Care

    Ronald Tutalo, PharmD, is a Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist (BCACP) and a Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES). He works collaboratively as part of interdisciplinary teams within several Integra primary care practice sites on population health management, co-management of patients with chronic disease states, including diabetes mellitus, and ensuring medication access for patients. He serves as Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Graduate School of Nursing. Ron has a particular interest in pharmacy support for diabetes care and is knowledgeable about devices and remote monitoring. He supports the remote monitoring and pharmacy components of the fellowship. 

Our Fellows

  • Druanne LaPlante headshot

    Druanne LaPlante, DO

    Primary Care Diabetology Fellow

    Family Medicine Residency: Eastmoreland Hospital, Portland, OR
    DO, Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific; BS, University of Portland

    Druanne is a board certified family medicine physician, receiving her medical degree from Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. Druanne owned her own practice for 14 years before switching and working at Adventist Internal Medicine Clinic in Happy Valley, Oregon for eight years. In 2021, Druanne switched and went to Legacy Internal Medicine Clinic Mt. Hood and worked as a staff physician and medical director. 

    Druanne enjoys playing pickleball, cycling, kayaking and spending time with her family and friends. 

Our Staff

  • Amelia Newburg headshot

    Amelia Newburg

    Family Medicine Program Manager; Program Coordinator, Primary Care Diabetology Fellowship

    As Family Medicine Program Manager, Amelia manages administrative activities to support faculty and staff, and works closely with the Chair of Family Medicine on strategic, long-term planning for the department. She is excited to work with Dr. Bertheau in developing and guiding the future of the fellowship. Amelia has a degree in Sociology from Smith College, and many years of experience working in nonprofits and postsecondary education.

    Outside of the office, Amelia has adventures with her two small kids and tends to her very demanding retirement community of two senior dogs and one senior cat. She enjoys crossword puzzles, reading, and being outdoors, especially in water.

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