Here’s what’s happening in health care in Rhode Island:

  • State benefits: Today, the Department of Human Services goes live with a new system – the state’s biggest IT project ever – that allows people seeking benefits to apply for everything (Medicaid, food stamps, cash assistance, etc.) all in one place. Previously, applicants had to fill out paper applications for each program, wait for an eligibility determination, go to multiple offices, etc. Now they can apply from home or a computer in a DHS field office. But advocates for these clients say they may need more help applying than DHS is anticipating. We’ll be watching the roll out of the new system closely.
  • Pneumonia: Hillary Clinton has pneumonia. There’s a vaccine for the severe kind of pneumonia, FYI, you should know about: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/pneumo/
  • Health and Human Services: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Medicaid, and the Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals are now without leaders. National searches are on for their replacements. Acting director of DCYF Jamia McDonald is the most recent to step down.
  • Westerly Hospital: The affiliation of L+M Healthcare – parent of Westerly Hospital – and Yale New Haven Health has been approved by the State of Connecticut’s Office of Healthcare Access, according to an L&M spokesman. The deal received regulatory approval from all State of Rhode Island agencies last week and the Federal Trade Commission last year. From the parties’ statement “Per the affiliation agreement, L+M Healthcare is set to become a full corporate member of Yale New Haven Health and maintain its local board of directors with fiduciary responsibility. Each hospital, and the VNASC, will maintain its identity, and the hospitals will maintain separate licenses and medical staffs.”
  • Child safety seats: On Saturday, September 24 from 11 am to 2 pm, on National Seat Check Saturday, experts from the Injury Prevention Center at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and other agencies will inspect car seats in the Roger Williams Park Zoo parking lot and show parents how to properly install and use the seats in their vehicles. The event is free. More information at www.keepkidsinjuryfree.org.