Health Care

Women and Infants Hospital is responding to allegations that a research study of premature babies in which it participated didn’t properly inform parents of the risks.

Newport residents received notice this week that levels of some cancer-causing chemicals in their water have exceeded what’s allowed by the federal government. It’s no emergency, but the city is upgrading its treatment facilities to prevent possible long term health effects.

Rhode Island is getting a boost from the US Department of Agriculture to help attract more kids in need to its summer food program. The USDA’s goal is to increase participation by 10 percent.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island is responding to a lawsuit claiming that it stymied Steward Health Care’s bid to acquire Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket.

Steward is the Massachusetts-based, for-profit health care chain that tried to acquire Landmark, which has been in receivership for several years. Steward filed suit in Superior Court this week claiming Blue Cross thwarted those plans purposefully to maintain what Steward calls an unlawful monopoly on commercial insurance and hospital services.

Westerly Hospital will lay off 45 employees, just before its sale to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, CT is completed.

Westerly’s new owners struck deals with hospital unions early on during acquisition talks. They agreed to keep most clinical positions. The 45 lay-offs don’t conflict with those commitments.

15 of the employees losing their jobs are unionized support staff. The rest are mainly from Westerly’s business office. Those functions will be consolidated at L&M’s headquarters in Connecticut.