Brown University Health plans to keep open the birthing center at Newport Hospital — at least for now.
The Noreen Stoner Drexel Birthing Center was facing possible elimination due to budgetary challenges for Brown University Health and other healthcare providers in Rhode Island.
“We understand the concern surrounding the future of the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center,” John Fernandez, president/CEO of Brown University Health, wrote in an internal email Tuesday. “While the center remains in the FY26 budget and is not currently scheduled to close, its long-term future will be evaluated over the next year.”
Brown University Health plans to review the labor and delivery services at Newport Hospital, Fernandez said.
“This task force will include input from community leaders, donors, nurses, physicians, and others,” Fernandez added. “It is important to note that recruiting OB/GYNs remains a major challenge, and sustaining a strong program depends on both clinical expertise and adequate patient volume.”
Also staying open: the Samuels Sinclair Dental Center and Gateway Health Care.
However, Fernandez said Brown University Health has struggled to deal with rising costs for drugs, supplies and labor, and that he expects elements of President Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill to worsen strains on Rhode Island’s healthcare system in the years ahead.
Newport City Councilor Xaykham “Xay” Khamsavoravong praised how the Newport community responded to the possible closing of the birthing center.
“We put this issue on the radar just two weeks ago and the community’s response was outstanding,” Khamsavoravong told The Public’s Radio. “Brown Health’s planned announcement reflects that they are listening.”
A rally planned for 6 p.m. Tuesday was scheduled to express opposition to the possible closing of the birthing center. Expected Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes and House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, a potential candidate for governor, were slated to participate.
Khamsavoravong said the rally will still take place, both as a way to reflect on the latest development and as a way to focus on how to preserve primary care in Newport amid Rhode Island’s ongoing healthcare crisis.
In a statement, Attorney General Peter Neronha praised Brown University Health for keeping the birthing center open and he praised the community’s response.
“My office is keenly aware of the financial pressures experienced by Brown Health and other hospitals and providers; pressures that arise from our failure to fix the financial fundamentals of our broken health care system,” Neronha said in a statement. “Providers across Rhode Island have long sounded the alarm about low Medicaid reimbursement rates and other financial stressors, and up until very recently, those calls for change went unanswered. Until we truly prioritize investment in our health care system, we can and should expect more difficult decisions about closures, decisions which may not turn out as favorably as this one.”
