Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee has announced $1.6 million in proposed state funding for Newport Hospital’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center, following 10 months of advocacy from lawmakers and community organizations. The allocation comes from state settlement funds from the 2024 RIBridges data breach.
Brown University Health, which operates Newport Hospital, initially suggested it might close the 10-suite birthing center due to financial pressures but committed to keeping it open contingent upon $4.9 million in annual state and philanthropic funding. The center currently operates with approximately 15 employees and delivers roughly 480 babies a year, according to a report commissioned by the Coalition for Newport Hospital Birthing Center. Brown Health has not publicly detailed how it arrived at the $4.9 million estimate, nor has it agreed to contribute its own $1.6 million to close the funding gap.
McKee’s budget proposal adopts a solution designed by Rep. Lauren Carson, a Newport Democrat, which would establish a $4.9 million fund split equally among state general revenue, philanthropy, and the company itself. Under Carson’s bill, Brown Health would be required to submit quarterly financial reports and one-year breakdowns of funding use and impact, maintain current operational levels, and develop a long-term plan with community input for a “state-of-the-art women’s and maternal health care facility.” Carson called the governor’s move “a step in the right direction” while noting the state and company still have “a little ways to go.” Brown Health posted a $17.6 million loss in the first quarter of its fiscal year ending December 31, with executives forecasting $100 million to $200 million in net annual operating losses. The settlement agreement with Deloitte, the consulting firm that managed the RIBridges platform, was finalized in April after Deloitte had already paid $5 million in 2025 for its role in the 2024 cyberattack that compromised personal information of 644,000 people. The budget memo also allocates settlement funds to other healthcare initiatives: $3.2 million for a cost-share program for non-Medicaid eligible seniors living independently, $2 million for a state-run HIV/AIDS treatment program, and $846,000 to increase per-diem pay for skilled nursing facility workers caring for patients with complex behavioral issues.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://thebradentontimes.com/premium/stories/mckee-adds-16m-for-newport-birthing-center-to-fiscal-2027-budget-plan,197653