Voices of the Bay: Tiverton’s Jerome M. Larkin, MD

Jerome M. Larkin, MD is the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health. His long list of credentials includes serving as the medical director of Inpatient Infectious Diseases Consultation Services at Rhode Island Hospital, co-director of the Pediatric HIV Clinic at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, and medical director of the Infectious Disease Clinic at Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Larkin has been recognized with multiple awards and honors. He’s board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine and in General Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Larkin received his medical degree from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and completed his undergraduate degree at Boston College. When he heard about auditions for one of his favorite plays, Our Town, at the Little Theatre of Fall River, it reignited his action chops from college, and the Tiverton resident has been performing on stage ever since. Last fall, Dr. Larkin had the lead role in Arthur Miller’s gripping family drama, All My Sons, at Little Theatre.

WHAT NOW: I had done a lot of stuff with my kids – coaching and scouts – and as they were aging out of those activities, I started looking for something else to do. I happened to hear that Little Theatre of Fall River was holding auditions for Our Town, and I tried out. It was March of 2020, COVID happened, and the show was put on hold. In late 2022, I got a text from the director asking if I was still interested. The show went up in January 2023, and it was probably the first time I’d been on stage in almost 40 years. I caught the bug again. I played the undertaker, Joe Stoddard, a small part which was perfect.

OPENING NIGHT: Being on stage is like riding a bike. People in theater are kind of an instant family, especially if you’re doing something very intense with people you don’t know well. By the end of production, you know them better than many people you may have known for years. I think that’s kind of why I really want to pursue it again. I realized how much I actually missed it, even though I may not have known how much; it’s really fulfilling, both the connection with people in the cast and the intensity of doing live theater and connecting with the audience.

LEAVE IT AT THE OFFICE: Acting is a complete break with what I’m doing during the day. I had a similar experience every summer for about five years when I would go with my sons to Camp Yawgoog for Boy Scout camp. That was another break with the reality of practicing medicine. I was just there as a parent, leaving daily life behind.

JOB TITLE: I rarely lead with telling people that I’m a doctor. Someone usually has to ask me what my job is, or it comes out organically in a conversation. Every once in a while, people will say, “Hey, I just saw you on TV. You’re the director of the Department of Health?”