The Newport Birthing Center Coalition will hold a public meeting Nov. 9 to report on where the effort to sustain the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center stands, seven months after Brown University Health committed to keeping it open.
The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. at the Newport Public Library, 300 Spring St. Rep. Lauren H. Carson and Sen. Dawn Euer, both Newport Democrats, said residents, families, health care workers and community leaders are invited.
Brown University Health announced on April 3 that the center would remain open following a review by the consultant Kaufman Hall and input from a community advisory panel the hospital formed last November. But the system said sustaining the service requires an additional $4.9 million a year in new revenue from state funding and philanthropy, and said it would “immediately launch an aggressive effort” to secure it.
The Kaufman Hall review found safe, quality care and round-the-clock obstetric, pediatric and anesthesia coverage, while flagging concerns about workforce sustainability and operational reliability at low volume.
Monday’s agenda includes an update on the center and the campaign to keep it open; a report on the coalition’s discussions with Brown University Health and Newport Hospital leadership; a presentation of coalition recommendations for expanding the center into what the group calls a first-class maternity facility serving all of Newport County; and a discussion of priorities for the 2027 General Assembly session, which convenes in January.
Carson represents District 75 in Newport. Euer represents District 13, covering Newport and Jamestown.
The lawmakers said the coalition remains committed not only to preserving the center but to making it a model for maternity care in Rhode Island.
