PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Doctors and officials at a Rhode Island hospital are opposing a rival hospital’s plan to build an obstetrics unit nearby, showing up at public meetings to say the proposal will undermine their services.
The Providence Journal reports 20 people from Women and Infants Hospital in Providence spoke at a Tuesday meeting against Rhode Island Hospital’s proposal. They said the new unit would duplicate services at time when births are declining in the state.
Dr. Katharine Wenstrom, who directs maternal-fetal medicine for Women and Infants, said losing some deliveries would diminish their other services.
A lawyer for Lifespan, which owns Rhode Island Hospital, said the new unit would be good for patients and the broader health care system.
