As Rhode Island State Police continue to probe why 1,400 people of color received false cancellation notices for a state-run vaccination clinic at the Dunkin Donuts Center, state health officials confirmed this week that about 900 other people received erroneous messages that their vaccination appointments at a state-run clinic in Middletown were “missing.” The error […]
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.
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‘Justice was served’ say R.I. political leaders of Chauvin conviction
In Rhode Island, public reaction to the conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer in the death of George Floyd was unanimous. From top elected officials to leaders in law enforcement, higher education and community organizers, the response to Derek Chauvin being found guilty on all counts in Floyd’s death was one of resounding support. […]
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New protocols aim to prevent another ‘glitch’ in Rhode Island’s COVID-19 vaccination registration
Rhode Island health officials have put in place new protocols aimed at safeguarding COVID-19 vaccination appointments after 1,400 people of color received false cancellation notices for a clinic last weekend. Access to clinic cancellations has been restricted to certain supervisory and leadership-level staff, and all staff have been retrained, pending a state police probe into […]
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State Police to probe false cancellation notices for COVID-19 vaccinations
Rhode Island Governor Daniel J. McKee has asked the State Police to look into why some 1,400 people of color who had registered for last weekend’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence were sent false cancellation notices. Several community leaders had raised concerns to The Public’s Radio about whether the cancellation […]
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Hundreds of false cancellation notices sent to residents of color for vaccine appointments this weekend
More than 1,400 people in hard-hit communities who registered for COVID-19 vaccinations this weekend at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence were mistakenly notified that their appointments had been cancelled due to what state health officials are calling a glitch in the state registration system. The appointments — scheduled by community leaders and volunteers — […]
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RI 911 Center delays launch of new emergency medical dispatch system
It’s taken two years and $1.2 million to get Rhode Island’s 911 system ready to provide CPR and other medical instructions to callers. The system should be working in June. Rhode Island is the last state in New England to provide this service.
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R.I. residents 16 and older in hard-hit ZIP codes eligible for COVID-19 vaccine
Rhode Island opens vaccine eligibility Tuesday to residents 16 and older in eight hard-hit zip codes around the state. These residents — in zip codes 02904, 02905, 02907, 02908, 02909, 02860, 02861 and 02863 — live in parts of Providence, Cranston, North Providence and all of Pawtucket and Central Falls. They are now eligible to […]
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Rhode Island residents 50 and older will be eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine on April 5
All Rhode Islanders ages 50 and older will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine starting on April 5. Residents ages 40 to 49 are expected to be eligible to sign up for a shot the following week, state officials said at a weekly briefing Thursday. Two new state-run mass vaccination sites are scheduled to open […]
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Providence, Pawtucket expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to residents 18 and older
Rhode Islanders ages 18 and older in seven of the state’s hardest-hit zip codes are now eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine. The City of Providence on Monday announced expanded eligibility in the zip codes 02904, 02905, 02907, 02908, and 02909 in Providence, which include some adjacent neighborhoods in North Providence and Cranston. […]
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Help on wheels: A mobile trailer delivers COVID-19 vaccine registration to Providence’s hard-hit neighborhoods
A gas generator makes an unholy roar outside St. Bartholomew’s Church in the city’s Silver Lake section where a shiny white trailer is parked. Inside the trailer on this chilly March afternoon it’s warm and filled with light. Two healthcare workers are seated at a long folding table behind plexiglass dividers, working on laptops. Their […]
