Rhode Island
Newport City Council fights to save hospital birthing center from closure – What’s Up Newp
The Newport City Council will convene a special meeting Tuesday evening to consider a resolution advocating for the continued operation of the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital, as the facility faces potential closure due to budget constraints.
The meeting, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, comes as Newport Hospital’s parent company, Brown Health, grapples with “substantial budget shortfalls” that are forcing consideration of cuts to programs and services across the system.
In his weekly newsletter to supporters Sunday, Councilor Xay Khamsyvoravong outlined the stakes facing the community, warning that closure of the birthing center would create “The Last Generation of Newporters” if expectant mothers are forced to travel off-island for delivery services.
“Newport Hospital is considering cuts to services and is specifically considering closing the Birthing Center, where the next generation of Newporters are delivered,” Khamsyvoravong wrote in the email titled “The Last Generation of Newporters?”
The timing is critical, as Newport Hospital welcomes a new president on Monday who will immediately begin working on the hospital’s fall budget—with the birthing center’s fate “put squarely on his agenda.”
Economic and Safety Concerns
The proposed resolution outlines several concerns about closing the birthing center, including impacts on emergency services and the local economy. According to the document, expectant mothers typically make 2-4 impromptu trips to a delivery unit before giving birth, and without local services, they would likely overwhelm Newport Hospital’s already strained emergency room before being diverted elsewhere.
The resolution also warns that closure would increase demand on the city’s Fire and Rescue Department, whose ambulances would be “increasingly called upon to transport expectant mothers to off-island hospitals, potentially during time-sensitive and medically urgent situations.”
From an economic perspective, the resolution argues that poor access to healthcare would be “yet another reason young families with flexibility won’t move here,” further exacerbating Newport’s challenges with attracting and retaining families.
Personal Stakes
Khamsyvoravong brought a personal perspective to the issue, sharing memories of accompanying his mother, pediatrician Dr. Linda Rexford, on weekend hospital visits throughout her nearly five-decade career. He noted the irony that he wasn’t born at Newport Hospital himself, but spent countless hours there as a child.
“I have forty-one years of being told the people we rely on most are valued the least,” Khamsyvoravong wrote, referencing the compensation challenges facing primary care providers in Rhode Island.
Call to Action
The councilor is urging community members to make their voices heard before Tuesday’s meeting. He specifically called on residents to contact Sarah Frost, Executive Vice President and Chief of Hospital Operations at Brown University Health, as well as members of the Hospital Foundation’s boards and major donors.
“We need you to tell your story,” Khamsyvoravong wrote. “Newport Hospital and their parent, Brown Health, needs to hear it from you.”
The resolution, if passed, would be sent to Brown Health leadership, the President of Newport Hospital, the Governor of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Health, Newport County state legislators, the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, and the town councils of Jamestown, Middletown, and Portsmouth.
The special meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, at Newport City Hall, 43 Broadway. The resolution is sponsored by Councilors Xay Khamsyvoravong, Stephanie Smyth, Jeanne-Marie Napolitano, Ellen Pinnock, and David R. Carlin III.
Rhode Island
Police ID man hit, killed by car in Cranston
CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Cranston police have identified the man who was hit and killed by a car on Atwood Avenue Friday evening.
Major Todd Patalano said the man was 80-year-old Richard Viti, of Cranston.
Police were called Friday evening to the area of 700 Atwood Avenue for reports of a pedestrian who was hit by a car. Investigators say Viti was crossing the street to get to the San Bernardo Society.
The driver, who has not yet been identified, faces charges of operating on a suspended license and operating an unregistered vehicle, according to Patalano.
There may be more charges the driver is facing as the investigation is still in its early stages, Patalano explained.
Viti was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Patalano said the driver is cooperating with authorities.
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Rhode Island
RI Lottery Mega Millions, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Nov. 14, 2025
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 14, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from Nov. 14 drawing
01-08-11-12-57, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 14 drawing
14-19-34-42-43, Lucky Ball: 13
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from Nov. 14 drawing
Midday: 2-1-0-8
Evening: 2-6-8-7
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from Nov. 14 drawing
04-05-12-14-23, Extra: 31
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Rhode Island
Newport Hospital earns top ranking – What’s Up Newp
Newport Hospital was among several hospitals in Rhode Island that achieved an A rating from the hospital watchdog group Leapfrog in its fall ratings. Three hospitals – Roger Williams Medical Center, Kent, and South County were awarded C or below, a pattern of declining ratings over the last few years.
Additionally, Women and Infants Hospital declined to participate in Leapfrog’s survey, according to Leapfrog. The group surveys more than 2,000 hospitals nationwide twice a year.
Both Fatima and Roger Williams are owned by California-based Prospect Medical Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy several months ago. There have been efforts to sell the hospitals while maintaining both of them open.
Women and Infants is part of the Care New England Group, which also includes Kent Hospital, whose safety rating has steadily declined over the last few years.
Leapfrog, which conducted the survey, is a well-respected hospital watchdog group that describes itself as “the nation’s gold standard in evaluating hospital performance on national measures of safety, quality, and efficiency in both inpatient and outpatient areas.”
Hospital safety is critical, with surveys suggesting that as many as 440,000 patients die annually because of hospital safety errors. Studies suggest that preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in America.
Leapfrog assigns rankings, A to F, based on issues involving infections, surgical problems, safety concerns, and practices to prevent errors. Within each of these areas are also several measures.
Earning A ratings for the fall of 2025 were Newport, Miriam, Rhode Island, and Westerly Hospitals. Newport, Miria,m and Rhode Island are part of Brown University Health (formerly Lifespan), while Westerly is part of the Yale/New Haven group. Landmark Hospital in Woonsocket received a B rating; Kent, Fatima and South received C ratings; and Roger Williams Medical Center received a D rating.
Several trends were also evident. Newport and Miriam Hospitals have been trending up, scoring B in the spring and fall of 2022, but in 2023 reaching an A rating, and remaining there. Rhode Island fell to a C in the fall of 2023, rising to B in both surveys in 2024, and in the two reports in 2025 have achieved an A rating.
Landmark has been consistently A-rated since 2022, with the only exception being a B in one of the reports in 2024. Westerly has been rising, from a C in the spring of 2022 to an A in 2025. Fatima has been C-rated with only one exception, a B in the fall of 2022. Roger Williams also consistently received a C until this fall, when its ranking dropped to D.
South County had ranged between A and B, falling to C this fall.
For those hospitals that trended lower, a significant problem appears to be effective leadership to help prevent errors. “Effective leadership to prevent errors: Errors are much more common if hospital leaders don’t make patient safety a priority. Leaders must make sure that all hospital staff know what they need to work on and that they are held accountable for improvements.”
South County, which is Rhode Island’s only independent hospital, experienced a disruption among physicians several months ago, in a rift with the administration that apparently has yet to heal.
Leadership, or lack of leadership, was also noted for other hospitals not performing well.
Meanwhile, other issues remain: healthcare – the lack of primary care physicians (nationwide); the study to determine whether to build a second medical school at the University of Rhode Island; and the threatened closure of Roger Williams and Fatima Hospitals.
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