Posted: Dec 4, 2025 / 07:20 PM EST

Updated: Dec 4, 2025 / 08:36 PM EST

BARRINGTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Police have canceled a Silver Alert for a 78-year-old man reported missing out of Barrington Thursday.

Jeffrey Rockwell had been last seen in person on Wednesday, but police said his vehicle was spotted Thursday morning taking the Broadway exit off I-195 West.

Police located Rockwell Thursday around 8:30 p.m.

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PROVIDENCE — Prime Healthcare Foundation has withdrawn its bid to acquire two Rhode Island hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, leaving the Centurion Foundation, a Georgia-based nonprofit that has struggled to secure financing, as the hospitals’ sole suitor.

Prime, which first publicly signaled interest in Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in early November, had been in talks with state officials and executives with California-based Prospect Medical Holdings. In late October, Prospect filed a motion in bankruptcy court to shut down the hospitals, a scenario state officials and health leaders said would destabilize Rhode Island’s entire health system.

Prime’s exit leaves The Centurion Foundation, which has struggled for months to finance a deal, as the sole remaining prospective buyer once again. Centurion has been unable to attract investors and is expected back in US Bankruptcy Court on Friday to update Chief Judge Stacey Jernigan on the status of their financing. Jernigan said in late November she was frustrated by Centurion’s continued inability to secure the necessary capital for a deal she approved in February.

“No one wants these closed,” said Jernigan during a court hearing on Nov. 24. “But, as I expressed last time, I’m beyond frustrated with Centurion.”

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha confirmed to the Globe Thursday morning that Prime advised him on Wednesday that they view the “collective hurdles presented by the proposed transaction as too big a challenge for them to take on at this time.”

“They wanted to see how the Centurion transaction played out,” said Neronha. “I told them that I understood, and I do.”

The collapse of Prime’s bid comes at a critical moment for Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, two safety-net hospitals that care for many of the state’s most vulnerable, including the uninsured and many who are covered by public insurance. If Prospect is given approval by the court to shutter these hospitals, Rhode Island’s emergency departments would be overwhelmed, and other systems spread thin.

Part of the reason Prime pulled out was because it would have had to assume existing labor contracts, according to Neronha.

Brad Dufault, a spokesman for United Nurses and Allied Professionals, which is the union represents many of the workers at the hospitals, told the Globe that with time quickly running out, the union is “pleased that the state can now keep the focus 100 percent on closing the Centurion deal.”

“Prime Health has an abysmal record here in Rhode Island and across the country – a record of greed, fraud and deceit,“ said Dufault. ”Rhode Islanders who need quality health care services dodged a major bullet by keeping them away from these important community hospitals.”

Prime owns and operates Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, where UNAP also represents workers.

Prime and Prospect have been in discussions over the last few weeks on how to address the nearly $90 million in post-bankruptcy petition expenses that either the buyer or the seller would be required to pay. Centurion has agreed to cover those expenses if they close their deal. It’s unclear if Prime was willing.

Neronha said in a statement that Prime has been in discussions with his office and the Rhode Island Department of Health about “certain necessary commitments regarding capital improvements, assumption of existing labor contracts, preservation of existing lines of medical services, who would cover anticipated losses while they managed but did not yet own the hospitals, a management fee they would be paid (none versus how much), and more.”

Noel True, a spokesperson for Prime, could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.

Centurion’s executives recently warned the state that seeking an alternative buyer, like Prime, would spook investors and undermine their deal to acquire the hospitals, which was first approved by regulators in 2024. Centurion’s President Ben Mingle could not be immediately reached for comment.

This story has been updated with a comment from Brad Dufault.

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The Trump Administration is once again threatening to withhold SNAP funds from some states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts, because they’re refusing to share the data of the people in each state receiving the benefits.

“That’s a matter of the courts in terms of the information. We believe that handing over private information violates a person’s rights. That’s why we’re in court right now,” Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said Wednesday.

The information the Trump Administration wants includes the names and immigration status of SNAP recipients.

Gov. Dan McKee spoke with NBC 10’s Gabrielle Caracciolo. (WJAR)

Twenty-two states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts, sued the feds earlier this year over the demand to handover the data winning a preliminary injunction in October to halt the request.

Its not clear how the threat to withhold funding will impact the litigation.

“Very short term we can certainly help but we don’t have the funds to backfill that program,” Rhode Island House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said.

The Trump Administration argues the data is needed to help root out fraud.

“I think when you’re dealing with thousands and thousands of people, you can’t absolutely guarantee it,” McKee said of fraud within the system. “But I know that we make sure that we put the effort in to make sure that the people who are receiving the benefit are entitled to the benefit.”

“I don’t think there’s a lot of fraud. I think there may be a lot of waste and a lot of inefficiencies in the program. I could say that’s just about a lot of programs. But there’s a difference between inefficiencies and waste and then actual fraud,” Shekarchi said. ‘Fraud is a criminal act and if there is fraud it should be prosecuted with full extended law and I support that. But overall the program helps a lot of needy Rhode Islanders and just because there may be a small percentage of waste or mismanagement doesn’t mean you stop the program. It means you fix it and make corrections along the way.”

In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement, “This is truly appalling and cruel. The Trump Administration is once again playing politics with the ability of working parents with children, seniors and people with disabilities to get food. President Trump needs to order Secretary Rollins to release SNAP funding immediately and prevent more Americans from going hungry.”