All Entries in the "Non-Profit Business" Category

Save The Bay to hold volunteer Earth Day beach cleanups on April 21-22 and through all of April

 PROVIDENCE, RI – April 16, 2018 – In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, Save The Bay has organized several beach cleanups all over Rhode Island, giving individuals, families and groups many options for getting involved. “Cleanups are such a fun way to celebrate Earth Day. It feels great to do something hands-on to help the environment. And you can really see the difference when you are done,” said July Lewis, volunteer and internship manager at Save The Bay.

Earth Day Cleanups on April 21-22 are as follows:

• April 21: Narragansett, 10 a.m. – noon, Salty Brine. More info and signup.
• April 21: Newport, 10 a.m. – noon, Easton’s Beach. More info and signup.
• April 21: Warwick, 10 a.m. – noon, Conimicut Point. More info and signup.
• April 22: Providence, 10 a.m. – noon, Save The Bay at Fields Point. More info and signup.

Several additional cleanups are planned throughout the month of April, for volunteers who want to make a difference, but can’t help out on Earth Day. They are:

• April 20: Cranston, 10 a.m. – noon, Tongue Pond. More info and signup.
• April 28: Westerly, 1 – 3 p.m., Misquamicut Beach. More info and signup.
• April 28: East Providence, 10 a.m. – noon, Bold Point. More info and signup.
• April 28: Cranston, 10 a.m. – noon, Stillhouse Cove. More info and signup.  
• April 28: Bristol, 9 a.m. – noon, Bristol Harbor. More info and signup.
• April 29: Warwick, 1 – 3 p.m., Salter Grove. More info and signup.

Save The Bay holds beach cleanups every year, from spring through fall. Last year on Earth Day, nearly 500 volunteers collected almost 8,000 pounds of trash and debris at shorelines all over Rhode Island. “People are so enthusiastic to join with their neighbors and make a visible difference in the health of their beaches. This is how we clean up the Bay — together, one piece of litter at a time,” Lewis said.

CharterCARE offers to invest $10M in Memorial, plans revival starting with ER, CNE downplays plan

PAWTUCKET — CharterCare Health Partners CEO John J. Holiver and Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien announced Thursday that the hospital system plans to buy the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island building and has committed $10 million for capital improvements, returning medical services there in stages, starting with emergency care.

A spokesman for CharterCare said the company’s total offer to Care New England, which shut down Memorial Nov. 11, has not been sent to CNE yet.

Holiver said the $10 million would cover both outfitting the emergency center as well as the anticipated medical staff. He said he couldn’t estimate the company’s possible offer on the entire former Memorial Hospital campus.

“It’s too early to tell,” Holiver said.

Eventually, CharterCare plans to restore all medical services at the building. Efforts to draft the plan to restore services at the Memorial Hospital building began at the request of Grebien.

CharterCare jointly owns Roger Williams Medical Center, Fatima Hospital, St. Joseph Health Center and Elmhurst Extended Care with Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. of California through a joint venture, Prospect CharterCARE LLC.

In January, Prospect and Brown University announced their competing bid to purchase Care New England as an alternative to the absorption of the health care system by Boston-based Partners HealthCare of Massachusetts. CNE and Partners have a standing exclusive agreement to pursue a merger, but the deal hinges on state approval.

Thursday morning, Holiver said their plan for Memorial Hospital is a separate issue from the Brown University-Prospect proposal.

Originally CNE planned to sell off Memorial to Prime Healthcare as part of the Partners deal, but continuing losses at the Pawtucket institution led the local hospital system to close it. The closure affected approximately 700 employees, limited access to hospital care in the Blackstone Valley and caused an emergency room crisis when other local hospital emergency rooms were inundated with an overflow of patients during the winter flu season, one that was described by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “intense.”

Care New England had a quick reaction to the news. Jim Beardsworth, spokesman for the health care system said in a statement: “We made the difficult decision more than six months ago to close Memorial Hospital and begin transitioning the facility into an outpatient center. In the process, we preserved 200 local jobs and positioned community-based health care for a solid future. Today’s announcement by Prospect Health/CharterCare certainly comes as a surprise, as there has been no previous discussion or formal proposal submitted to Care New England.

“Any plan to reopen the closed facility, as suggested today, is simply unfeasible, especially since we previously had conversations with CharterCare about buying Memorial and those proved fruitless. Today’s announcement represents nothing more than an opportunity to muddy the health care landscape with an ill-conceived plan with no true thought for serving the community need.”

When the R.I. Department of Health approved Care New England’s reverse certificate of need application to close Memorial Hospital’s emergency department in December 2017, it set a number of conditions related to the loss of emergency room services:

• CNE will provide $300,000 to Pawtucket and $200,000 to Central Falls each year for two years to offset emergency medical services costs associated with transporting patients to other hospitals
• CNE will establish a transportation plan for patients and patients’ families so that individuals with nonemergency chronic conditions won’t have to incur additional costs associated with traveling to receive services that are only offered at another hospital
• CNE must maintain Memorial Hospital’s Family Care and Internal Medicine Centers in Pawtucket at their current hours and staffing levels
• CNE will invest $100,000 annually in the Pawtucket and Central Falls Health Equity Zones. Rhode Island’s HEZs are nine distinct areas throughout the state where organizations are coming together to put health programs and policies in place to prevent chronic diseases, improve birth outcomes, and improve the socioeconomic and environmental conditions of their neighborhoods

State of Rhode Island Supports United States Virgin Islands Recovery

Help is on the way from Rhode Island to the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), which is still reeling from two hurricanes that hit last September.

The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency is assisting the USVI in their ongoing efforts to reconnect their communications since Hurricanes Maria and Irma battered the area last September. At 4:00am this morning, RIEMA shipped six Rapid Emergency Satellite Communication systems to help bridge the gap in their network communications. These portable units enable field personnel to be online and connected to the internet in a matter of minutes.

When the Category 4 and 5 hurricanes hit, many of the islands’ communication services were destroyed. The hurricanes disrupted landline phones, internet connections and cell service. These Rapid Emergency Satellite Communications systems will help people connect again. “Rhode Islanders stand with our fellow citizens in the US Virgin Islands,” said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “I’m glad that we’re able to support their recovery efforts.”

Rhode Island’s support is possible through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. EMAC is a nationally adopted mutual aid agreement among states to share resources during times of disaster.

“Shell-a-brate” the Terrific Turtles of Narragansett Bay this month at Save The Bay’s Exploration Center and Aquarium

NEWPORT, R.I. – March 1, 2018 – Save The Bay’s Exploration Center and Aquarium will celebrate the turtles of Narragansett Bay throughout March with a series of “Terrific Turtle”-themed activities. The Exploration Center, open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, is home to several native species of turtles, including the eastern painted turtle, terrapin and common snapping turtle. This month, guests can visit the turtles at the aquarium and participate in special activities highlighting the creatures’ unique features and habits. “All of the turtles that inhabit the Exploration Center were rescued and would not have survived in the wild without the care of our aquarium staff,” said Adam Kovarsky, aquarist and education spet at Save The Bay. The aquarium’s two resident terrapin turtles, Phil and Jerry, are on the state’s endangered species list. A scavenger hunt will send participants searching for Bowser the snapping turtle’s food, and guests can craft their own turtle and hear the story “Tudley Didn’t Know” by John Himmelman. Bowser, a common snapping turtle, was rescued when he washed up at Easton’s Beach, just about the size of a quarter. Save The Bay’s staff took him in, and he is now completely healthy and doing well in a new large tank donated by the New England Aquarium to give Bowser a habitat that fits his growing size. “Bowser is a real mutant turtle; his front left hand has two extra fingers, making for a total of seven. This is caused by a genetic mutation called polydactylism, which has the same effect in cats and humans” said Kovarsky.     Guests can help feed Bowser and the other inhabitants of the Exploration Center at Feeding Frenzy from 5-6 p.m. on Thursday, March 15. This interactive feeding time experience gives guests a behind-the-scenes look at the creatures of the Exploration Center when they’re most active. Space for this event is limited and reservations must be made at https://savebay.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd060e3870cfe820bda71bad3&id=df2c010482&e=700f6c9992. The Exploration Center and Aquarium is located in the Easton’s Beach Rotunda at 175 Memorial Blvd. in Newport, Rhode Island. General admission is $8, and $7 for military and senior citizens. Save The Bay Family Members can enjoy FREE admission for two adults and up to four children. For more information about the Exploration Center and Aquarium, visit www.savebay.org/aquarium or call 401-324-6020. #####      Founded in 1970, Save The Bay works to protect and improve Narragansett Bay and its watershed through advocacy, education, and restoration efforts. It envisions a fully swimmable, fishable, healthy Narragansett Bay, accessible to everyone and globally recognized as an environmental treasure.

“Phil” is an endangered Northern diamondback terrapin living at the Exploration Center and Rhode Island.