Here’s what’s happening in health care in Rhode Island, Dec. 20:

JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Health care giant Johnson & Johnson plans to open a new technology center in Rhode Island. The center could bring about 75 highly skilled jobs to the Ocean State in the first half of 2017. Governor Gina Raimondo says the company’s decision shows that Rhode Island is “making a name for ourselves as a hub for advanced industries.” Johnson & Johnson executive Steve Wrenn says the organization chose Rhode Island because of its network of institutions of higher education and the state’s commitment to the health and technology sectors. Johnson & Johnson plans to lease nearly 9,000 square feet of temporary office space in Providence by next spring. To support the news, Johnson & Johnson plans to apply for state-sponsored tax incentives. The announcement is another win Raimondo in a string of major jobs announcements, including deals with the Wexford Innovation and Virgin Pulse.

WOMEN & INFANTS: Health care workers and Women & Infants Hospital reached a tentative contract agreement, averting a potential strike. SEIU 1199 workers wanted higher staffing levels and less overtime. The hospital has said its financial position makes answering such demands difficult but that they were committed to negotiating a fair contract.

OVERDOSE DEATHS: State health officials say they missed more than two dozen victims of accidental opioid overdose in prior reporting on last year, and the undercount continued into the current calendar year. The problem appears to stem from data entry errors. Until 2015, the state’s prior medical examiner, Dr. Christina Stanley, entered all the overdose death data herself. Incoming Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott thought that might be slowing down the agency’s ability to calculate results, so she decentralized the process. This meant allowing other doctors to add their own data. But, health officials say, some fields were inadvertently left empty. When state officials queried the data, some deaths were left out. The number of deaths for 2015 was 290, 32 more than originally reported. To date this year, 270 people have died of opioid overdoses, an increase compared to the same time last year. 

Note: Happy Holidays! Your weekly health briefing will resume in 2017.