In December of 2000, we moved to Rhode Island from Iowa with our two young daughters to join the practice of Drs. Jacob and Helen Schinazi on the East Side of Providence, RI. The weather was very cold and snowy, and Drs. “Jack” and Helen made us feel so welcome that we will never forget their kindness. A husband-and-wife ophthalmology couple were joining another husband-and-wife ophthalmology couple!

Our current practice is an amalgamation of the practices of four wonderful physicians in Providence and Pawtucket. These include Drs. Jacob and Helen Schinazi of Providence, Dr. Stephen Conway of Pawtucket, and Dr. Robert Curran of Pawtucket.

Drs. Jacob and Helen Schinazi both grew up in Egypt. Jacob was born in Cairo where he earned his medical degree. Dr. Helen lived in Alexandria and is still a strong swimmer from her days as a girl swimming off the coast. They then trained together in London and Boston before joining the staff of Miriam Hospital and settling in the East Side of Providence. Their practice was located at 265 Waterman Street on the corner of Butler Avenue across from Whole Foods. It was a three-story building with the doctor’s office on the first floor and two apartments above similar to many doctors’ offices on the East Side years ago. They had taken over the practice of two ophthalmologists before them, and so we have some records going back 75 years. Dr. Jacob was past President of the New England Ophthalmology Society based in Boston. He passed away at the age of 87 in 2020. Dr. Helen still lives in Providence.

In 2004, Dr. Stephen Conway retired, and we were able to purchase his medical building at 465 East Avenue in Pawtucket. This move gave us more office space and a larger parking lot. Dr. Conway was born in Boston in 1947 and graduated from Boston College and then Tufts Medical School. He performed his ophthalmology residency at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York City. He was a member of the staff at Memorial Hospital and was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Brown University. Dr. Conway passed away in 2013.

Dr. Robert Curran also practiced in Pawtucket and was head of the Division of Ophthalmology at Memorial Hospital for many years. He was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Rockville Centre, Long Island. He attended the College of the Holy Cross where he was roommates with Dr. Anthony Fauci. He then studied at Cornell Medical School and did his ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospitals and University. Following residency, he completed a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology at the Children’s Medical Center in Boston. He passed away in 2017.
We feel truly fortunate to have known these outstanding doctors and are honored to continue their tradition of outstanding patient care.