Rhode Island
RI needs to give harm reduction workers all the support possible | Opinion
Katherine Dunham is a harm reductionist and researcher at the People, Place and Health Collective at the Brown University School of Public Health.
In January 2022, Rhode Island joined the national opioid settlement which provided over $90 million for state and local efforts to address the overdose crisis. It’s imperative that these funds be used to comprehensively and equitably support the well-being of harm reduction staff — the front-line workers who will be carrying out many of those lifesaving efforts.
Harm reduction is a set of strategies that addresses the negative outcomes associated with drug use. Notably, research has found that those working in the field — harm reduction workers — face common stressors in their roles such as overextension, grief and feelings of burnout, all of which take a toll on staff members’ mental health and all of which are exacerbated by the growing overdose crisis.
More: Do safe injection sites increase crime rates? What a Brown University study found.
Additionally, studies out of Philadelphia and Massachusetts found that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, harm reduction organizations were experiencing staff shortages, staff members were unable to work remotely, and staff were experiencing significant feelings of isolation. Working in harm reduction myself during this time, I felt these feelings of loss, exhaustion and tension firsthand, and saw that organizations often didn’t have the resources to sufficiently address them.
Rhode Island has a long history of supporting harm reduction and a recent report found that there is currently an “unprecedented demand” for harm reduction services in the state. While it’s wonderful that opioid settlement funds are being used to create and expand these services, it’s critical that we properly support the well-being of the local harm reduction workers who will be providing these lifesaving services. Such funding could be used to support facilitators of staff well-being, such as sufficient pay, job security and benefits. It will also be important to speak directly with local harm reduction workers about what support they most need and formally support the ways in which staff members have already been taking care of themselves and their coworkers.
Importantly, Rhode Island has already begun to allocate funds in this way. This month, it was announced that opioid settlement funds are being used to create a million dollar grant that will fund trauma support for local peer specialists and first responders. This prioritization of peer specialists’ well-being is especially key since these staff members often face unique stressors while working in the field but often receive less institutional support. That being said, the implementation of this grant will be incredibly important. These funds need to be made known and made easily accessible to local harm reduction organizations; this is especially important given that harm reduction workers often don’t have access to the same level of occupational resources and benefits as the other named first responders.
More: From addiction to advocate: RI’s mission to help pregnant mothers battling with substance use
Additionally, it’s critical that the state makes sustained, long-term commitments to support harm reduction workers beyond this specific grant, funding additional support services and creating opportunities for workers more broadly. That being said, this grant is an important, early example of ways in which states and localities can use opioid settlement funds to support harm reduction workers’ mental health.
We need to set harm reduction staff up as best as possible to implement these new initiatives and save lives. If not, we will just be putting additional pressure on a workforce that’s already burdened by many mental health stressors. In this way, opioid settlement funds are an important and hopeful opportunity to explicitly allocate funds for this purpose.
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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