Community members will rally tonight to oppose the potential closure of the only labor and delivery unit on Aquidneck Island.
The “Moms Over Margins Rally” to save the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital is scheduled for 6 p.m. today on the lawn outside Newport City Hall on Broadway. The location was changed from the originally planned Friends’ Meetinghouse for better visibility.
The event comes after Brown University Health announced it is considering shutting down the birthing center. Nearly 500 babies were born at the facility last year, with more than 300 births recorded there so far in 2025.
Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is among the scheduled speakers, along with Newport City Council members Stephanie Smyth, Xay Khamsyvoravong and Ellen Pinnock. Medical professionals including Dr. Brooke Roebuck, head of pediatrics at Newport Hospital; Dr. Jennifer Enos, an obstetrician-gynecologist; and Dr. Martha Ullman, a retired pediatrician, are also expected to speak.
Other speakers include Newport Fire Chief Harp Donnelly, Cassie Voll, co-founder of Moms Over Margins, doula Latisha Michel and Carol Bazarsky, chairwoman of the Newport Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. The rally will conclude with an open microphone for community members.
According to organizers, the following is a list of rally speakers.
- Stephanie Smyth, City Councilor
- Cassie Voll, Moms Over Margins Co-Founder
- HEZ Resident
- K. Joseph Shekarchi, Rhode Island House Speaker
- Dr. Brooke Roebuck, Head of Pediatrics at Newport Hospital
- Harp Donnelly, Newport Fire Chief
- Latisha Michel, Doula
- Newport Resident
- Xay Khamsyvoravong, City Councilor
- Helena Foulkes
- Dr. Jennifer Enos, OBGYN
- Ellen Pinnock, City Councilor
- Dr. Martha Ullman, retired pediatrician
- Carol Bazarsky, Chair of the Newport Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees
- Katie Hellendrung, Local Middletown Resident
- HEZ Resident
- Rob Vitello
- Open Mic for Community
The Newport City Council unanimously approved a resolution July 15 urging Brown Health to keep the center open and calling on state leaders to intervene. The resolution warns that closure would force expectant mothers to “travel significantly farther to access delivery services, which could pose serious risks in emergencies and present undue hardship on families with limited transportation options.”
The resolution also notes that closure would strain the city’s Fire and Rescue Department, whose personnel and ambulances would be “increasingly called upon to transport expectant mothers to off-island hospitals” during medical emergencies, potentially diverting resources from other critical incidents.
Organizers are asking attendees to bring signs and wear purple to show support for maternal health.
For more information, contact Stephanie Smyth at steph.smyth18@gmail.com or (401) 318-1132. Smyth serves as an at-large member of the Newport City Council.
