Next: Resolving management issues at South County Hospital

It's Over: Butler Hospital caregivers overwhelmingly ratify new four-year contract

Steve Ahlquist

The 99% of Butler Hospital workers who participated in the vote, overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract, thus ending the state's longest hospital strike.

“We are proud to stand together to have an agreement that allows us to move forward with our shared goal of helping patients and caring for one another,” said Clinical Social Worker Brooke Huminiski. 

“In this agreement, there are lasting impactful changes that will impact workers, patients, and the larger community. This resolution is a sign of true unity that brings the hospital and its mission forward. We are incredibly thankful for the support of so many in our community as well as elected leaders, especially House Speaker Shekarchi, who helped us find a pathway forward toward resolution.”

Yesterday, before workers ratified the new contracts, the Hospital and the union, SEIU 1199NE released the following statement:

“On behalf of both Butler Hospital and members of the bargaining committee representing all job classifications of the hospital, we are pleased to share that a tentative agreement has been reached. More details will be forthcoming in the coming days.”

Here are some of those details:

• Wages: The first year of the contract full time employees will have an increase of at least $6,000. And by the end of the four year contract no employee will earn less than $20 an hour.
• Healthcare: Maintained benefits and controlled the costs for the HSA healthcare plan.
• Workplace Safety: Financial support for workers injured by workplace violence (a new workplace violence time bank seeded by the hospital and members. Injured workers can draw from it to supplement their own workplace compensation).
• Retirement: Secured affordable retirement for current and future workers through the whole agreement.
• Training: Educational benefit worth $600,00 over four years, administered by the SEIU 1199NE Training and Education Fund.
• Equity and Inclusion: Employer will provide and share costs of tri-lingual translation of medical and retirement benefits as well the union contract.

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Butler workers make hard and painful movement on contracts, Care New England unresponsive

Check the pulse of heartless hospital management

Steve Ahlquist

Since bargaining resumed with Care New England on Wednesday, August 6th, Butler Hospital workers have offered two counterproposals that significantly reduce the financial distance between the parties to end the lockout. Workers say that Care New England has not responded to their proposals.

On Tuesday, Butler workers held a press conference:

“Today, we want to provide you with some updates on the bargaining process and share some of the movement that we’ve made to come to a fair deal,” said Courtney Threats, licensed clinical social worker and part of the Butler members’ bargaining committee. “On Wednesday, August 6th, after more than a month without negotiations, we met with Butler’s legal team and the federal mediator. During that time, we spent 18 hours coming up with two counterproposals that we hoped would get us to a fair deal. Despite the movement we made, hospital leadership decided to get up at 3 am and walk away without any resolution.

“The movement we made was hard and painful, but it helped us stay true to our core values, which are to lift the least paid members of this organization out of poverty while ensuring that Butler is a safer place for everyone.

“Despite those efforts, the hospital decided against honoring the bargaining process, took to the press, making inflammatory statements about us, attacking us as workers, and attacking our character instead of coming to the table and making a fair deal. Regardless of their attempts to attack us, we have tried to stay strong, putting forward proposals that, hopefully, bring us closer to them.

“Our last two counter proposals brought us within $1.2 million, over four years, between our wage proposal and the employer’s proposal. That’s $300,000 a year. In addition, we agreed to take on a new premium for our HSA healthcare plan. Despite those efforts, we still have no resolve, no answers, and no contact with Mary Marin (President of Butler Hospital) or Michael Wagner (CEO of Care New England), who have remained silent and distant throughout this process.

Talks resume to end Butler Hospital strike

Butler Hospital strikers put their time to good use

Steve Ahlquist

Butler Hospital healthcare workers say being on strike has not dulled their need to give back to the community. Over the last few weeks, Butler caregivers have donated over 1,400 volunteer hours at food pantries, soup kitchens, community gardens, and shoreline clean-ups. In addition, Butler workers have responded to a dangerous blood shortage across the state. 

On July 21, the Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC) declared a blood emergency as the state’s blood supply dropped below a two-day inventory, far below the required seven-day supply to meet hospital and patient needs. In response, so many caregivers have stepped up that the Blood Center set up a sponsor code on behalf of the union to participate and donate.

"We’re on day 83 of our unfair labor practice lockout - about 12 weeks - the longest lockout/strike in hospital history in this state,” said Ben Dagnan, a mental health worker at Butler Hospital for 23 years. “To give you an update about where things stand, from our perspective: For those who haven’t heard, the hospital gave us their last, best, and final offer a couple of weeks ago, and last week, the membership voted overwhelmingly - 98% of strikers - to reject that last, best, and final offer. We voted to reject because there was some movement, but it still left our lowest-paid workers behind.

“Management says that $18 an hour is enough to survive in this state, but we all know that is not true or good enough.”

The contract Butler Hospital’s parent company, Care New England, offered did not include dietary, housekeeping, or medical records workers. “We have to make sure that everybody gets lifted up, and we go back to work when everybody is lifted up,” said Dagnan.

I asked about the status of contract talks:

“Interestingly enough," said Dagnan, “on Friday, we heard that the hospital was not interested in returning to the table, and then, yesterday, we found out they are. We’re looking forward to meeting with them tomorrow. We’re hoping that Mary Maran [President and COO of Butler Hospital] and Michael Wagner [Care New England CEO] will pay a visit. We haven’t seen them at the bargaining table once in this whole process. They’re welcome to come, and we hope to get something done. We’ve been very clear on what we’re looking for, so we’re ready to get back to the table and get a solution so we can get back to work. That’s what we want to do.”

The Publics Radio health reporter Lynn Arditi reported today that talks have indeed resumed supervised by a federal mediator. Arditi reports that even though the 700 union members voted down Butler management’s July 11 “final offer,” the union and management continued to have “off-the-books” meetings aimed at breaking the impasse.   - Will Collette

Butler workers reject hospital management's "final" offer

Strike for a fair contract grinds on

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Striking Butler Hospital workers mark outside Care New England headquarters at 4 Richmond Square in Providence on June 12, 2025. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

Butler Hospital’s unionized nurses, social workers, mental health and support staff voted Tuesday to reject the “last, best, and final” contract offer that management had submitted two and a half weeks ago. 

The Providence psychiatric hospital owned by Care New England and about 800 workers represented by SEIU 1199 NE have been unable to reach a new contract since the previous agreement expired March 31. The union has been on strike since May 15.

According to a post on the union’s blog, 98% of workers voted to reject the contract Care New England offered on July 11.

Women & Infants workers drum up support for their Butler colleagues as strike continues

Hospital workers stand together to fight for fair contracts 

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Unionized workers at Women & Infants Hospital march outside the facility on July 23, 2025, during an informational picket in support of striking Butler Hospital staff and workplace improvements at both hospitals, which are owned by Care New England. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

Once upon a time, Women & Infants Hospital paid for its workers to take customer service training courses at Disney World. 

Justine Iadeluca — a C-section recovery room nurse who’s worked at the hospital for 23 years — recalled attending one of those employer-paid trips to Florida. But those days are over, Idaeluca said as she stood outside her workplace Wednesday morning.

“It is now an antagonistic relationship,” Iadeluca said of the increasing acrimony between the hospital’s unionized workers, represented by SEIU 1199 NE, and the hospital’s owner, Care New England.   

Iadeluca and other Women & Infants workers held a one-day informational picket outside the hospital Wednesday to decry what the union calls management’s “illegal tactics against workers at the expense of patient care.” The union said eight worker layoffs were announced in the days leading up to the informational picket’s 10 a.m. start, all people who work in medical records and coding in the hospital’s oncology department. This week’s layoffs follow a batch of nine at the hospital announced on May 15 — the same day a strike began at Care New England’s psychiatric holding, Butler Hospital. 

“Every time that we have any kind of action, we let them know they’re having a picket, they lay people off,” Iadeluca said. “Any time the union takes steps up, there’s retaliation by the hospital. We are here to let the community know that there are inherent problems here within Care New England.”

The Women & Infants workers were joined on the picket line by their Butler colleagues, who have been striking for 69 days — the longest hospital strike in the Ocean State’s history, according to the union. The labor stoppage has proven impervious to resolution so far, with multiple meetings between the union and management producing little movement toward an agreement, even with the presence of multiple federal negotiators in the proceedings since May.  

The approximately 1,800 unionized frontline staff at Women & Infants are not on strike like Butler workers, but they feel similarly mistreated by Care New England, Iadeluca said. Women & Infants staff secured a new contract last December, staving off a potential strike. But Iadeluca described it as a “tentative agreement.”

What you voted for

Conditions at Butler Hospital part of a "pattern of intimidation and retaliation"

Hospital workers need fair contracts from Care New England

Steve Ahlquist

After nearly two months, the Butler Hospital workers’ unfair labor practice strike is now considered the longest hospital strike in Rhode Island history. On Wednesday, union workers from Butler and Women & Infants Hospital spoke out about Care New England (CNE) ’s sustained campaign of intimidation, harassment, and retaliatory behavior that affected caregivers and their patients.

Beth Iams, an activities therapist and mental health worker at Butler Hospital for the past 24 years, outlined a series of escalating CNE tactics against striking workers. “Our unfair labor practice strike began on May 15 at 6 am in the pouring rain,” said Iams. “Unfortunately, Butler Hospital and Care New England decided their strategy would be to use fear and intimidation to get us back to work.

“They started their campaign one week into the strike by canceling our health insurance as of June 1st. What were we going to do? We all need health insurance. For many of us, that was the start of the unity, strength, and resilience that we all possess today. Our union organized HealthSource Rhode Island to help our members find health insurance so we could all breathe again.

“Then we returned to the negotiating table, and Butler offered us less than they offered in the previous negotiations. This will do it, they thought. We will offer less, and they will break. But guess what? We didn’t break, right? We stayed unified and we kept going.

“Then they posted our jobs, taunting us with what they know means so much to all of us. Would we break then? No. Again, we relied on each other to get through those difficult times. The more they tried to break us, the closer we became. People who never spoke were now friends and people you could lean on.

“We finally felt a win. We were approved for unemployment by the Department of Health, who acknowledged that our strike was a lockout. What was Butler’s new plan? They filed a restraining order against the state to block our unemployment until an appeal was heard. This appeal usually takes 30 to 45 days, so they wanted to block our unemployment payments until that appeal was heard. They went before a judge and explained how paying us unemployment would be a hardship for them.

“Fortunately, the judge decided they would not grant the restraining order, and they lifted the hold on our unemployment benefits. That was a huge win for us. But guess what Care New England’s latest tactic is? They’re appealing this decision to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Regardless of what they throw at us, we stay strong. Their intimidation efforts are failing. We will not take less than we deserve. The only way to end this is to give us the fair contract we need for ourselves, our families, and our patients.”

The press conference/rally was outside Women & Infants’ Hospital at 101 Dudley Street in Providence. Here’s the video: Amid longest hospital strike in RI history CNE workers outline pattern of intimidation & retaliation

On May 15, Women & Infants announced it would lay off at least nine essential workers during one of the birthing facility’s busiest seasons. This includes eliminating the entire Pre-Admission Testing (PAT) department, which plays the vital role of pre-interviewing patients before surgery to ensure none of their current medications will result in complications.

Butler Hospital strike deemed lockout while Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro nurses weigh walkout

State deems Butler has "locked out" union workers, making strikers eligible for unemployment benefits

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

As a June heatwave scorches through Rhode Island, labor tensions threaten to boil over in the state’s health care sector. 

Unionized nurses at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital voted Monday night to authorize a potential strike, while medical and support staff at Butler Hospital, off the job since May 15, were formally deemed locked out by the state’s labor department on Tuesday, making them eligible for unemployment benefits. 

“We are feeling strong and unstoppable — now management’s only option is to sit down with us and come to a fair and equitable agreement for everyone,” Joe Maini, a mental health worker at Butler and member of the bargaining committee, said in a Tuesday night statement. 

The United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5098 represents roughly 2,500 nurses, case managers and technical and support staff who work at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital, both in Providence. SEIU 1199NE represents the 800-strong Butler workforce which comprises the nursing, clerical, dietary, technical and mental health staff at the Providence psychiatric hospital. 

Both unions’ contracts expired on March 31, and both will have the chance to hash things out again with their employers.

On Wednesday, Butler workers and owner Care New England returned to the bargaining table after two days of bargaining last week proved fruitless. 

Butler striking workers and management return to bargaining table

Fair settlement in the works?

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Striking Butler Hospital workers march in front of Care New England headquarters at 4 Richmond Square in Providence on Thursday, June 12, the start of a 30 hour sit-in. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

Butler Hospital management and representatives of its striking workforce returned to the bargaining table with a federal mediator for nearly six hours on Tuesday, the first negotiating session since June 5. 

This time around, the union brought a larger negotiating committee, with about 150 members representing nearly every department in the hospital — up from 40 the last time. 

The two sides are set to resume talks on Thursday.  

Tuesday’s talks began at 12:15 p.m. and ended at 430 p.m., according to the hospital owner Care New England, which posted an update on its ButlerInfoForYou.org website. 

According to the site, the union shared proposals but did not respond to “all aspects” of the hospital’s June 5th proposal.”

The hospital administration and SEIU 1199 NE — the union representing about 800 workers including mental health staff, nurses, certified nursing assistants, and support personnel — had not convened in 12 days because there was no federal mediator available to referee. The union has expressed skepticism that a third party is needed, indicating its willingness to negotiate without a mediator as it tries to secure better wages and working conditions. 

Big protest against hospital hardball at Butler

Hundreds gather for a candlelight vigil in support of striking Butler Hospital workers

Steve Ahlquist

Last night, hundreds of Butler Hospital union workers, family members, fellow union members, clergy, and community allies gathered for a candlelight vigil to reaffirm the value of the care and dedicated frontline staff as they provide essential mental health services every day. 

In response to Care New England’s recently announced plans to permanently replace longtime staff, speakers described the irreplaceable impact of the care provided by the longtime staff at Butler for their family members. They were joined by local faith leaders, including Rabbi Barry Dolinger, Reverend Gabrielle Sclafani, Mark Sutherland from St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, and Rabbi Preston Neimeiser from Temple Beth-El.

Established in 1844, Butler Hospital is considered the oldest hospital in Rhode Island and was founded to treat psychiatric illnesses. Today, it continues to play a vital role as the region’s leading facility for mental health and substance abuse support, a need that has grown significantly since the pandemic. Since the hospital’s inception, Butler’s frontline staff have provided life-saving care and support to patients from diverse backgrounds.

Here’s the video: We are Irreplaceable Hundreds of Butler Workers and Supporters to Hold Candlelight Vigil

Time for justice for Butler Hospital workers - no more scabs, threats and retaliation

Workers march on Care New England corporate HQ as Butler Hospital cancels their health insurance

Steve Ahlquist

As Butler Hospital workers continued to wait for a response from Care New England to resume bargaining, striking workers marched to the Care New England headquarters at 4 Richmond Square, arriving around noon. They demanded that Michael Wagner, CEO of Care New England, return to the bargaining table immediately and settle a fair contract. 

On Thursday, May 29, after meeting with a federal mediator for 11 hours, union workers presented the hospital with a set of contract proposals aimed at reaching a mutually agreed-upon agreement. 

In response, Butler Hospital informed workers that they would be unable to respond to their contract proposals until the following week, days after terminating their health benefits on May 31. 

Workers’ medical benefits expired on May 31, but hundreds have been able to sign up for free or low-cost health insurance through HealthSource RI, the state marketplace.

Video: Striking Butler Hospital workers march to Care New England HQ & demand a fair contract

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Two prominent local doctors blast one-sided coverage of South County Hospital struggle

Hospital CEO Aaron Robinson Misleads, Breaks Trust with Readers, Public In Newspaper Interview

Save South County Hospital

Broken Trust with South County Hospital CEO Aaron Robinson Described Below

By Roger W. Ashley, MD and Chris Van Hemelrijck, MD

(The two local esteemed physicians are responding to a recent Robinson-only focused story in the South County weekly newspapers The Independent and The Narragansett Times.)

It is with great interest that we read the article in The Independent (5-15-2025) and The Narragansett Times (5-16-2025) regarding comments made by South County Hospital Chief Executive Officer Aaron Robinson. How wonderfully ironic that such a statement could be made by someone whose leadership style is partly responsible for our local health care crisis. There follow statements reaffirming what we already know, that access to primary care providers is at a crisis point in RI. Robinson goes on to ask Rhode Islanders to lobby their elected representatives to step up their support to the beleaguered health care system.

He mentions that facing illness when your access to care is limited can be a scary place to be. The irony is that Aaron Robinson is, himself, primarily responsible for the loss of five Primary Care Providers from the South County Health Care System in the past five years. In addition to specialists in Cardiology - five physicians; in Oncology - three physicians and an NP; in Urology - two physicians; in Obstetric - one physician. And low reimbursement rates were hardly the reason for their departure since only one of these providers had left the state and two had decided to retire early.

He further cites the difficulties with finding a PCP [primary care provider] stating that he is on his fourth in five years. Actually as it happens, I (Dr. Ashley), is also on his fourth in five years, although I doubt that we are in the same situation since the first two of my four left because of Robinson’s style and demeanor.

The article also cites legislative efforts to correct deficiencies including in the uniquely low reimbursement rates compared to those in our neighboring states of MA and CT.---particularly Health Insurance Fairness (S.0681/H5832), Sponsored by Senator Susan V. Sosnowski and Representative Theresa Tanzi.

Interestingly, rather than lobbying for their support, Robinson has managed in some manner or other to offend at least two legislators, once by shouting and demeaning one in a meeting and another by refusing admission to a meeting to which they were led to believe they had been invited , leaving them (us) in the lobby because we were not on the “official list of invitees.”

In addition, his comments about “data based” care is perhaps an excuse for dismissing several practitioners from South County Health who were not seeing as many patients per hour as his ‘national standards’ suggested that they should. Lack of resources (secretaries and nursing assistance) as well as patient mix (elderly, first time visits) were apparently not considered.

He then goes on to extol the “introduction of new technologies” and the extraordinary pace of change in health care that frustrates members in the community, including the advocacy group Save South County Hospital. This group, made up of physicians and former Board of Trustees, are not only profoundly aware of these challenges, they understand that Aaron Robinson is not equipped to forge the partnership needed to effectuate those changes. Save South County Hospital now enjoys the support of all five of our local legislators in bringing about the change in leadership that is necessary to meet those challenges.

Westerly, South County and Newport Hospitals get top grades for “Outstanding Patient Experience”

Well-above average ratings on patient surveys

By Will Collette

Another ranking service released its findings, and three area hospitals did well. Healthgrades put out their 2025 ranking on patient experience, largely based on patient surveys, for Westerly Hospital along with its parent Yale New Haven, South County Hospital and Newport were the three hospitals in the state to receive 2025 Outstanding Patient Experience Awards.

While patient satisfaction is an important metric, the rankings on based on the results of surveys turned in by patients. Other metrics, such as the recently released ranking on patient safety, use harder, less subjective data to do their scoring. Still, since all hospitals are scored under the same system, the resulting comparisons are valid.

Westerly Hospital arose from its near-death experience when it became part of the Yale-New Haven hospital system. Significantly improved metrics show how valuable that affiliation as been. On a personal note, I've been a satisfied patient myself after a couple of cataract operations there in the past few weeks.

Embattled South County Hospital management may try to take some solace from these new ratings, breaking a cycle of bad news. But from my perspective, again after having been a patient there, I see the patient satisfaction ranking as an appreciation for the hospital staff.

When I turned in my most recent patient survey, I lavished praise on the staff but added comments lambasting million-dollar South County CEO Aaron Robinson and the SCH board for their callous response to criticisms from staff and patients. I singled out SCH’s decision to bring a SLAPP suit to stifle that criticism rather than negotiate in good faith.

Robinson needs to go if South County is to return to its longtime place as one of the best hospitals in New England. Until then, it’s still a very bumpy ride.

South County Hospital loses its "A" rating for patient safety

This is on management's heads

By Will Collette

South County Hospital was once the jewel in the crown of Rhode Island health care, consistently topping the charts that rated hospitals.

But that's no longer the case. South County Hospital's safety grade has dropped to a "B," putting in the bottom ranks among Rhode Island hospitals.

In contrast, the following hospitals scored an A:

• Newport Hospital, Newport
• The Miriam Hospital, Providence
• Landmark Medical Center, Woonsocket
• Rhode Island Hospital, Providence
• Westerly Hospital, Westerly.

For many years, South County received "A" ratings from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for patient safety. That's a very important metric since it measures your chances of leaving the hospital alive. Anything less than an A is simply not good enough.

What changed? Management. 

CEO Aaron Robinson, who assumed leadership in 2020, earns around a million dollars and seems more concerned with saving his job than saving patients' lives. 

He and his captive hospital board are actually suing critics of his management practices in a nearly unheard-of SLAPP suit against the group Save South County Hospital.

It gets worse when you look at the various criteria. The ratings show that hospital staff are not to blame.

South County's score in this category was 120 points out of 120

South County Hospital staff also scored highly for "Practices to Prevent Errors:"

That's the good news. The bad news comes when you closer at the rest of the criteria and scores for patient safety.

Infections

South County Hospital's problems are even worse than the table below shows. The footnotes red-line SCH's response to the request for MRSA infection data with this: 1. Declined to Report: The hospital was asked to provide this information to the public, but did not. Data on blood infections was also "not available."

Surgical problems

SCH apparently could not or would not report on deaths from treatable complications. The three red-lined categories are disturbing: blood leakage, kidney damage and accidental cuts and tears.

Safety problems

In this category, two items are red-lined while only two of the seven items are in the green. 

One of them, "harmful events," is described by Leapfrog this way: "Patients can experience complications and potentially harmful events following a surgery, a procedure, or childbirth."

The red-lined score for "collapsed lung" was personally chilling since I sent four days in SCH for pneumonia in 2023. I had a great experience with a good outcome, largely due to the excellent staff. 

To be clear, I love South County Hospital and my relationship with them stretches back 50 years to my friendship with their long-time CEO, the late Donald Ford. I want them to succeed and thrive and regain their top ranking once again.

As a first step, they need to drop their frivolous harassment suit against Save South County Hospital. They should be talking and listening to critics, not suing them. Can SCH achieve a turn-around under CEO Aaron Robinson? I doubt it, but Robinson's leadership is an issue that needs to be negotiated in good faith.

Hospitals can be turned around. Westerly Hospital suffered poor ratings and nearly went out of business. Now, as part of the Yale-New Haven Hospital system, they seem to be thriving with ratings to prove it. 

Just in the past month, I had two operations to remove cataracts at Westerly Hospital and was impressed at their quality of care. If Westerly Hospital can change, there is certainly hope for South County Hospital.

Local state Reps support South County Hospital reform movement

They decry management's unwillingness to listen 

Save South County Hospital

Below is a letter received today from five local legislators who had the courage to stand up to the entrenched leadership of South County Hospital and its Board of Trustees. Despite these legislators’ good-faith efforts to mediate and drive much-needed change, they were met with resistance and outright dismissal by hospital leadership and trustees.

These lawmakers are now issuing a stark warning. We are deeply grateful for their unwavering support for Save South County Hospital, former Board of Trustees chairs leading change efforts, donors, patients, medical staff, hospital employees, physicians - and every South County resident who deserves better than the hospital leadership and trustees are willing to give.

These lawmakers’ voices, like all of ours collectively, will not be silenced in the face of obstinate and unaccountable leadership. A special thanks to State Rep. Carol McEntee for briefing her colleagues listed below on our current efforts to hold our South County Hospital Healthcare System Endowment Special Member meeting on April 3. It is open to Members and the public, who are encouraged to attend, at 6 p.m. in South Kingstown High School’s auditorium.

Former South County Hospital CEO addresses the currrent crisis

Public relations tactics and lawsuits no substitute for discussions and negotiations

By Lou Giancola, Retired Chief Executive Officer, South County Hosptial in Save South County Hospital

I had the privilege of serving as the President and CEO of South County Health and Hospital for eighteen years. It was the most rewarding assignment of my over 50 years working in healthcare. What made it so rewarding was the strong support of the people of South County and the devotion of the staff to our patients, to one another, and to the community.

South County Hospital is unique because it is – and always has been – truly of, by, and for the community it serves. In addition to providing high-quality inpatient care, we were always actively involved in what happened outside the hospital walls – from ensuring access to outpatient services to tackling critical social determinants of health that can shape the quality and length of people’s lives.

Over the past year, I have been made aware of concerns of patients and staff regarding the functioning of the Hospital. While I do not intend to address specific concerns, I am especially disturbed by the response from the Hospital’s Board and management, which has been contrary to the Hospital’s mission and values and has engendered considerable distrust.

Rather than engaging in meaningful dialog, the Hospital has mounted a public relations campaign ignoring community concerns and has now scheduled a closed Annual Meeting. (Previously, the Annual Meeting has been open to all interested parties.)

Rather than sharing information, the Hospital Board has refused reasonable requests for documents such as Bylaws and Corporate membership lists. Hospital leadership has gone so far as to engage lawyers to dispute the right of community members to access information.

The South County community has asked for transparency and the Hospital has responded by becoming less transparent–sharing only information that supports its argument that everything is under control. This approach has fostered suspicion and fueled the perception that the Hospital is circling the wagons to hold the community at bay.

Until now, I chose to voice my opinions about the Hospital privately, in hopes that the efforts of others would result in an open and honest dialog among the Board, senior leadership and concerned members of the South County community. Unfortunately, this has not occurred. I now feel compelled to lend my voice to those seeking change in the governance and management of the Hospital.

RELEASED TODAY - Key Physicians Speak Out About Troubles at South County Hospital

"(The hospital's) legal action is, in our opinion, yet another attempt by the CEO and Board Chair to intimidate concerned citizens and to distract the public’s attention from their mismanagement."

Save South County Hospital

As physicians with many years of service to patients and South County Hospital in our respective specialties, we continue to be extremely concerned about the exodus of medical providers from South County Health.

Since the current CEO was appointed by the Board of Trustees (BOT) in 2018, physicians and other providers including entire groups from primary care, urology, oncology-hematology, cardiology, hospitalist medicine, pulmonology and gynecology have left or are in the process of leaving their practices at South County Hospital. Although hospital leadership claims that this turnover rate is “within the national norm,” it is a marked departure from the recent past when the resignation of a provider from South County Hospital unrelated to personal issues was exceedingly rare.

EDITOR'S NOTE: According to the last filing (Aug. 14, 2024) by South County Health, CEO Aaron Robinson was paid $854,719 despite an operating loss of $6.5 million. Robinson was hired in 2020. The hospital reported his total compensation as $455,635. Despite continuing operating losses, Robinson continued to get large raises, almost double his pay in just four years.   - Will Collette

The hospital leadership also falsely attributed the departure of doctors, physicians’ assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses to the "challenging health care landscape” (a euphemism for suboptimal compensation in Rhode Island). This could not be farther from the truth as evidenced by the fact that most of those who have resigned continue to practice in Rhode Island. As many of the individuals themselves have stated, they left as a result of the adversarial relationship they encountered with the current leadership and its negative impact on their ability to provide quality patient care.

South County Hospital leadership maintains this exodus of providers has not affected the health of the community or patients. This, of course, is also false. While they may have replaced some of the medical providers with expensive “locum-tenens” on short term contracts, patients’ continuity of care and trust in their physicians, two essential tenets of quality, have been severely compromised. In addition, the departure of the providers from the community has led to delays in office visits and testing, other critical components of care for sick and well patients alike.

Over the past several months, in public and behind the scenes, under the auspices of the organization Save South County Hospital (SSCH), a large number of healthcare providers, donors, concerned community members, former Trustees (including multiple past Chairpersons) of South County Hospital and elected officials have attempted to engage the leadership to bring about the change in culture need to “right the ship”. Close to 2,000 (1995) local community members have signed a petition and attended public forums expressing their concern and dismay.

Unfortunately, the response of the CEO and current Chairman of the Board has been to attack the motivation of these individuals, labeling more than two thousand people, including these community leaders, as a small group of disgruntled rabble rousers. We lament the continued adversarial posture of the hospital leadership and are particularly discouraged by their misguided decision to bring a lawsuit against Save South County Hospital that was filed last week. In this lawsuit, the CEO and Board Chair allege that members of Save South County Hospital have violated their duty to protect confidential donor information, insinuating that their actions place “millions of dollars” in donations at risk.

The allegation goes on to suggest that SSCH seeks to damage the high quality of care that SCH has provided to our community over the past century. Nothing could be further from the truth. The mission of SAVE South County Hospital was and remains the preservation of quality care at South County Hospital and many of the donors they refer to are involved in these efforts.

This legal action is, in our opinion, yet another attempt by the CEO and Board Chair to intimidate concerned citizens and to distract the public’s attention from their mismanagement. By their leaders' own admission, South County Hospital is already facing severe financial hardship. We believe that undertaking this expensive and frivolous lawsuit is an abrogation of their responsibility to safeguard precious funds that could be spent on patient care.

On Thursday, April 3rd at the South Kingstown High School Auditorium at 6 pm, a special Members Meeting of the Endowment of South County Health will be held. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss recent events and to consider the election of new trustees to the board that can make the hospital more attuned to the community and its concerns. This meeting is open to the public and we strongly encourage anyone concerned about South County Hospital and the future of healthcare in Southern Rhode Island to attend.

As cosigners of this letter, we make these claims as individuals with no attribution to any organization or affiliation.

• Chris Van Hemelrijck, MD - Internal Medicine - Primary Care
• Steven Fera, MD - Cardiology
• Aaron Weisbord, MD - Cardiology
• Jamie Smythe, MD - Oncology

Already on life support, hospitals blast McKee’s FY26 proposed funding cuts and fee hikes

Is McKee making a bad situation far worse?

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Half of the state’s hospitals finished fiscal year 2023 in the red,
including independently owned South County Hospital in
South Kingstown. (Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)

Seventy-two minutes after Gov. Dan McKee released his proposed fiscal 2026 budget on Jan. 16, the state’s hospital trade group fired back.

The Hospital Association of Rhode Island in a statement warned that McKee’s spending plan would “worsen the health care crisis,” harming hospitals and, in turn, the residents who depend on them for critical services.

The strong and swift response came 11 days before the abrupt threat of a federal funding freeze that could hold up billions in aid for local hospitals. 

Rhode Island’s array of private and nonprofit hospitals have been battling rising costs, staffing shortages and a frenzy of malpractice claims for years. Meanwhile, a critical source of revenue — Rhode Island’s reimbursement rates for the one-third of state residents on Medicaid — has not kept pace with operating costs, or with neighboring states.

Brown University study links hospital affiliation with higher patient costs

Ironic findings from the operator of Rhode Island's hospital group

Brown University

A study by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health shows that nearly half of all primary care providers (PCPs) in the United States are affiliated with hospitals, while the number of PCPs affiliated with private equity firms is growing and concentrated in certain regional markets.

Compared with PCPs at independent practices, those affiliated with hospitals or private equity firms charged higher prices for the same services.

The findings were published in JAMA Health Forum.

Health care consolidation is a driving force behind high health care prices in the U.S., said lead study author Yashaswini Singh, an assistant professor of health services, policy and practice who is affiliated with the Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research at Brown.

Because of a lack of data on the consolidation of primary care physicians, Singh said that it was difficult to quantify the trend.

With health care in crisis, Rhode Island hospital workers need to unionize

Residents vote to unionize at Care New England hospitals

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

READ HERE for an article describing how workers at Roger Williams and Our Lady of Fatima Hospitals might not get their next paychecks. 

Union membership for approximately 230 resident and fellow physicians employed by Rhode Island’s second-biggest hospital network was affirmed Wednesday by the National Labor Relations Board, union leaders announced.

Since December, resident and fellow doctors working at Care New England’s properties — Kent Hospital, Women and Infants Hospital, and Butler Hospital — voted by mail to affirm membership in the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU). The vote counts and outcomes for elections were counted separately but announced jointly Wednesday, with “overwhelming victories” at each hospital, according to union spokesperson Rachel Nass.