Community Advisory Panel
A Message from the President of Newport Hospital
The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center is a valued program at Newport Hospital and a cherished community asset here on Aquidneck Island.
Since sharing last spring that we were evaluating the center’s sustained viability, we have been actively exploring a range of potential strategies to ensure the birthing center’s long-term future and to preserve local access to high-quality obstetric care. As part of this process, a Community Advisory Panel has been convened to ensure we receive broad input from a range of perspectives.
Programs like the birthing center, which provide 24-hour access to critical services to respond to any obstetric or neonatal emergency, are inherently resource-intense. Sustaining such a high-quality program requires dedicated investment in recruiting and retaining specialized physicians and staff to ensure exceptional care.
We are committed to acting responsibly, transparently, and with the community’s best interests at heart. As the panel’s work advances, we will use this web page to update the community on our progress.
Sincerely,
Tenny Thomas, MD
President, Newport Hospital
About the Community Advisory Panel
Newport Hospital has assembled a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) made up of staff, patients, representatives from philanthropic and community organizations, and maternal health experts, to ensure that a broad range of community perspectives and needs are reflected in our planning for the long-term future of the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center.
We are grateful to the members of the panel for generously contributing their time, experience, and perspectives to an important dialogue about the future of maternity care in our region. Their recommendations and final report will help guide us as we evaluate all aspects of this important and valued program.
CAP Members
- Lori Allan, RN – The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center
- Carol Bazarsky – Newport Hospital Foundation Board
- Emily Blosser, MD – Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Medical Director, Newport Women’s Health
- Alex Hammer Ducas – Hammer Strategies
- Rebecca Homer, RN – The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center
- Rebecca Hurd, CNA, CLC – The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center
- Elizabeth Lynn – van Beuren Charitable Foundation
- Thomas McGue, MD – Newport Hospital Foundation Board, Former Newport Hospital Chief Medical Officer
- Latisha Michel, CLC, CBE, CHW – Certified Perinatal Doula, Ready Set Latch Go, LLC
- Sydney Ormerod – Women’s Resource Center, Newport Health Equity Zone (HEZ)
- Alexandra Quick, PT, DPT – Mae Physiotherapy
- Methodius Tuuli, MD – Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women & Infants Hospital
Facilitator: Carrie Bridges, Vice President of Community Health and Equity at Brown University Health
Meeting Updates
The panel will convene four times to hear and discuss data on quality and safety of care, financial viability, opportunities and challenges. In the interests of time and open dialogue, meetings are limited to CAP members and facilitators.