This is an archived version of our coronavirus page. For the most up-to-date information, please visit https://thepublicsradio.org/article/coronavirus-updates-2022 For information about COVID-19 vaccinations visit C19vaccineRI.org. A list of Rhode Island’s state-run test sites and their holiday hours is available here. The Latest R.I. school districts with vaccination rates below the statewide average of 48% include: Newport […]
Lynn Arditi
Lynn joined The Public's Radio as health reporter in 2017 after more than three decades as a journalist, including 28 years at The Providence Journal. Her series "A 911 Emergency," a project of the 2019 ProPublica Local Reporting Network, won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award in the radio/podcast category in 2020.
A native of New York City, she graduated from Oberlin College and landed her first journalism job at The Center for Investigative Reporting (now known as Reveal) in Washington, D.C., where she did story development for 60 Minutes. When the T.V. market imploded in 1987, the D.C. office of CIR closed and within a year she moved to Massachusetts to take a reporting job at the former Holyoke Transcript-Telegram, a small daily newspaper.
A year later, she moved to Providence, R.I. to work at The Providence Journal. There, she worked for several years as a bureau reporter covering schools and local issues, before she began covering statewide beats including higher education, the economy, housing and health care. During those years, she also honed her skills in narrative journalism, and served as chairwoman of the newspaper’s writing committee. Her work has been recognized by New England Associated Press News Executives Association and the Society of American Business Editors & Writers.
Posted inArticle, Health
Communities are divided over Rhode Island’s plan for safe drug injection sites
Representative Stephen M. Casey is an unlikely crusader for supervised drug injection sites. A Democrat from Woonsocket, R.I., he’s also a Catholic and self-described conservative. He’s against abortion rights. And he supports the Second Amendment right to own a gun. “So my first reaction was like no way,’’ Casey said. “As a rescue guy I’m […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Rhode Island Kids Count: More children hospitalized for neglect and abuse
Rhode Island had a 145% increase in the number of children hospitalized due to abuse and/or neglect in 2020, according to data released Tuesday by the nonprofit Rhode Island Kids Count. The report said 98 children were hospitalized for abuse and/or neglect in 2020, compared with 40 children in 2019, the most recent data published. […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Biden names Dr. Ashish Jha new White House COVID Czar
Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and an outspoken public health advocate during the pandemic, has been tapped by President Joe Biden to lead his administration’s COVID-19 response. Dr. Jha, 51, will join the Biden administration in Washington, D.C. as the COVID-19 response coordinator, the White House announced Thursday. […]
Posted inArticle, Health
RI’s CharterCare hospitals performed elective surgeries while turning away patients from their ERs
During this winter’s COVID-19 surge, hospitals across Rhode Island and Massachusetts suspended all but the most urgent surgeries to free up staff and beds to care for the influx of patients. But not CharterCare Health Partners, which operates Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center. Even when their emergency departments were so […]
Posted inArticle
Former Rhode Island firefighter who served on the state EMS advisory board faces felony firearms charge
Albert F. Peterson III, a retired North Providence fire captain who previously served on the board that helps oversee the state’s emergency medical services system, is facing a felony firearms charge after his arrest last week at a Providence strip club. On Feb. 23 shortly before 11:30 p.m. police responded to a report of an […]
Posted inArticle, Health
R.I. eases COVID-19 quarantine guidance for child care programs
Rhode Island will allow children who have been exposed to COVID-19 to attend child care programs as long as they are asymptomatic starting March 14, according to new guidelines announced Friday by Governor Dan McKee. The change, which incorporates the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is aimed at protecting health […]
Posted inArticle, Health
R.I. Attorney General blocks Lifespan-Care New England merger
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has rejected a proposed merger of Rhode Island’s two largest hospital systems, saying that consolidating Lifespan and Care New England would create a single system with “extraordinary market power” in violation of state and federal antitrust laws. On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission released a redacted copy of […]
Posted inArticle, Health
What changed labor’s tune on Lifespan-Care New England merger?
Unionized health care workers who just weeks ago voiced fear and distrust about the proposed merger of Lifespan and Care New England now say they fully support a plan to combine Rhode Island’s two largest hospital systems. The labor union support is a major milestone for the deal, which needs state and federal regulatory approval. […]
Posted inArticle, Health
McKee to leave masking up to school districts starting March 4
Rhode Island will lift its statewide indoor mask and proof-of-vaccination requirements for businesses and other indoor public places beginning this Friday (2/11), Governor Daniel J. McKee said Wednesday. The governor also plans to end the statewide masking mandate in schools on March 4. That would leave it up to school districts to decide whether or […]
