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PROVIDENCE – In an effort to increase their pay, improve working conditions and patient care, resident physicians and fellows at Rhode Island Hospital have voted to join a union, making them the first doctors in Rhode Island to unionize.
The vote by secret mail ballot passed, 464-27, doctors who’ve led the effort announced Tuesday night.
The doctors voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents for the purpose of collective bargaining with their employer, Brown University Health, formerly Lifespan. The Committee of Interns and Residents is the largest such union in the country, with more than 34,000 members.
A second group of physicians working mostly in Brown-affiliated programs at Care New England hospitals is also voting on whether to join the union, but those ballots aren’t due until January 14 and won’t be counted until January 15, according to the Committee of Interns and Residents.
Care New England’s Hospital’s include Butler Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital, and Kent Hospital.
Doctors in residencies say they regularly work 80 hours a week for first-year pay that can amount to as little as $15 per hour. The combination of demanding schedules and inadequate pay has a ripple effect that challenges their ability to treat patients and weakens the overall health care system, doctors say.
“We’re very proud of the work we do but we’re very much stretched to the breaking point in order to deliver this high-quality care,” said Dr. Felicia Sun, a neurosurgery resident at Rhode Island Hospital. “We’ve known for a long time that unionization is the first step to making our working conditions more humane, so we can continue to give the kind of care we want for the rest of our careers, and I’m so excited for what I expect to be a very positive result.”
The Committee of Interns and Residents has doubled in size since the onset of the pandemic.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha will release on Wednesday findings from a multiyear investigation into child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence.
According to the attorney general’s office, the report will detail the diocese’s handling of clergy abuse over decades.
While the smallest state in the U.S., Rhode Island is home to the country’s largest Catholic population per capita, with nearly 40% of the state identifying as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center.
Neronha first launched the investigation in 2019, nearly a year after a Pennsylvania grand jury report found more than 1,000 children had been abused by an estimated 300 priests in that state since the 1940s. The 2018 report is considered one of the broadest inquiries into child sexual abuse in U.S. history.
Neronha’s investigation involved entering into an agreement with the Diocese of Providence to gain access to all complaints and allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy dating back to 1950. Neronha’s office said in 2019 that the goal of the report was to determine how the diocese responded to past reports of child sexual abuse, identify any prosecutable cases, and ensure that no credibly accused clergy were in active ministry.
Rhode Island State Police also helped with the investigation.
Rhode Islanders who plan to join in the global celebration of Irish culture can choose from big and small events, including a parade in Providence.
The March 17 holiday falls on a Tuesday this year, and many big events will be held the weekend of March 14-15. Originally a modest, religious feast day honoring the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day today is a vibrant, boisterous holiday observed by millions of people regardless of their heritage.
The Providence parade is March 21.
We’ve rounded up 10 more events to help you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. But first, are you planning an event this spring? Feature it, so nearby readers see it all across Patch — including in roundups like this!
Here’s your guide to St. Patrick’s Day fun in Rhode Island:
Local News
A Rhode Island husband and wife in their 50s were identified as the two people killed in a Swansea car crash Friday night.
Carlolyn Carcasi, 54, and James Carcasi, 53, of Bristol, Rhode Island, were killed in the Feb. 27 crash, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release Monday.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 6 in Swansea, Quinn’s office said.
Police in Cranston, Rhode Island identified the driver who allegedly hit the couple as Demitri Sousa, 28. Sousa allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island nearly four hours before the crash, Cranston police said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said previously.
The couple was driving southbound on Route 136 when the Sousa crashed into the side of a Subaru Ascent. Both cars had “catastrophic damage,” and the Subaru was engulfed in flames, Swansea fire and police officials said.
Both occupants of the Subaru were declared dead at the scene, Swansea officials said.
Sousa was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries. He is expected to live and will be held in Cranston police custody until he is medically cleared, police said Sunday.
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