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No Smoking Complaint Form Download this form to file a complaint. Find out more about the Smokefree Public Place and Workplace Law.

updated January 9, 2009

Welcome to the Rhode Island Department of Health Website

Our Mission
is to prevent disease and to protect and promote the health and safety of the people of Rhode Island.

I Want To...	Online Services
Get a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate Check nursing home quality scores Find out about local food recalls area Request Health Department information File a complaint against a health professional File a no-smoking complaint Quit Smoking	View Food Safety Inspection Reports Renew your Health Professional License Verify the license of a health professional Order educational materials online Download mailing lists and labels

Features

Hospital Conversions / Mergers Program
Hospital Conversions Act Initial Application on the Sale of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Rhode Island [Withdrawn 12/03/08]

Fire Safe Cigarette regulation status
The Fire Safe Cigarettes regulations implementation has been indefinitely postponed. Do not submit certifications at this time. Change in status will be posted on this site. Please check periodically. For more information contact: Jan Shedd, Team Lead for Health Promotion and Wellness (222-5927).

Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program Draft State Plan
The goal is to launch and sustain a statewide coordinated effort to prevent and control heart disease and stroke. The program is committed to furthering policies and systems that: sustain individual behavior change, enhance access to effective medical care, and improve health status with a special focus on the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in heart disease and stroke prevention. See also: Stroke Task Force Report to the General Assembly

State HEALTH Laboratories: Laboratory Services 2007
This report was developed to provide a consolidated overview of the diverse laboratory services provided by the State Health Laboratories, a division of the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Food Safety Inspections
Health Department food safety inspection reports completed since January 2007 are available online for all retail establishments including restaurants, markets and health care facilities. These reports consist of all inspection types including routine and reinspections, illness investigations and preoperational inspections. Some inspections may not contain violations.

Health and Medical Headlines

Reuters Health
Yahoo Health
CDC
NIH
WHO

Reuters Health

Feeling pretty? Hormones may lead to more...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women with high levels of estrogen not only look and feel prettier -- but they may act on those feelings by moving from man to man, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Peanut butter being recalled in Salmonella outbreak

(PCA) on Tuesday voluntarily recalled peanut butter produced in its Blakely, Georgia processing facility because it could be contaminated with Salmonella food poisoning.

Obesity may raise risk of ovarian cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese women may have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer than their thinner counterparts, a large study of U.S. women suggests.

Yahoo Health

Largest study of US child health begins (AP)

AP - Scientists begin recruiting mothers-to-be in North Carolina and New York this week for the largest study of U.S. children — aiming eventually to track 100,000 around the country from conception to age 21.

With economy sour, consumers sweet on herbal meds (AP)

AP - The choice between $75 prescription sleeping pills or a $5 herbal alternative is a no-brainer for Cathy and Bernard Birleffi, whose insurance costs have skyrocketed along with the nation's financial woes.

Sexually spread diseases up, better testing cited (AP)

AP - Sexually spread diseases — for years on the decline — are on the rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting a record, government health officials said Tuesday.

CDC

CDC Recommends Shingles Vaccine

People age 60 and older should be vaccinated against shingles, or herpes zoster, a condition often marked by debilitating chronic pain...

New CDC Study Finds Arthritis Can be a Barrier for Adults Seeking to Manage Diabetes through Physical Activity

More than half of adults with diagnosed diabetes also have arthritis, a painful condition that can be a barrier to physical activityâ€”an important health strategy for managing diabetes...

Falls a Leading Cause of Injury-Related Emergency Department Visits for Infants Each Year, CDC Study Shows

Half of the estimated 328,500 infants 12 months of age or younger who were treated for injuries in hospital emergency departments each year from 2001 to 2004 were injured as a result of a fall, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NIH

Drug Abusing Offenders Not Getting Treatment They Need in Criminal Justice System

The vast majority of prisoners who could benefit from drug abuse treatment do not receive it, despite two decades of research that demonstrate its effectiveness, according to researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

NIH releases first Biennial Report of the Director

Dr. Raynard S. Kington, acting director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced the publication of the first Biennial Report of the Director, a document that provides an integrated portrait of NIH research activities.

National Children's Study Begins Recruiting Volunteers

The National Institutes of Health announced today that the National Children's Study will begin recruiting volunteers to take part in its comprehensive study of how genes and the environment interact to affect children's health.

WHO

Health services close to collapse in Gaza

7 January 2009 -- The health services in Gaza, already depleted and fragile, are on the point of collapse if steps to support and protect them are not taken immediately. WHO has called for immediate improvement in the situation to make humanitarian health services accessible by the local people.

WHO warns of rise in deaths, human suffering in Gaza

29 December 2008 -- WHO calls for an immediate end to hostilities in the Gaza strip and urges Israel to ensure immediate provision of fuel and critical life-saving/trauma care supplies.

Health system problems aggravate cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe

10 December 2008 -- A widespread cholera outbreak, an under-resourced and under-staffed health system, and inadequate access to safe drinking water and hygiene are threatening the wellbeing of thousands of Zimbabweans.

In the News

12/22/2008 15:15 EST

Cocoa Sold In Rhode Island Recalled Due To Melamine Contamination

12/18/2008 14:45 EST

Healthcare Licensee Verification To Go Paperless

12/16/2008 14:00 EST

Report Shows General Financial Health of Rhode Island Hospitals Improves In 2007

12/12/2008 16:00 EST

National Report Card on Status of Emergency Medicine Gives Favorable Rating to Public Health and Injury Prevention Measures

12/09/2008 10:30 EST

National Influenza Vaccination Week Is The Perfect Time To Get Vaccinated

11/17/2008 13:15 EST