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updated July 8, 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.

H1N1 (Swine) Flu Information

I Want To...	Online Services
Get a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate Check nursing home quality scores Request Health Department infomation File a complaint against a health professional File a no-smoking complaint Quit Smoking Find out about food recalls	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

Adult Influenza Immunization Program
Enroll Here

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).

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

CORRECTED: Tobacco seen killing 6 million people next year

(Removes incorrect reference to Star Scientific in last paragraph)

Could smoking pot cut risk of head, neck cancer?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - You've heard about using marijuana and drugs derived from it to keep some of the side effects of toxic cancer chemotherapy in check. But what if smoking marijuana for 10 to 20 years could actually protect against certain tumors?

Study links high blood pressure to memory trouble

CHICAGO (Reuters) - People as young as 45 with high blood pressure are more likely to have memory troubles, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study suggesting aggressive early treatment of the condition may pay huge dividends.

Yahoo Health

Prostate cancer hormone drugs risky for some men (AP)

AP - A new study links hormone therapy for prostate cancer with a higher risk of death in older men who've had serious heart problems.

Circumcision doesn't protect gays from AIDS virus (AP)

AP - Circumcision, which has helped prevent AIDS among heterosexual men in Africa, doesn't help protect gay men from the virus, according to the largest U.S. study to look at the question.

Sebelius: Vaccinations main swine flu defense (AP)

AP - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that a massive school closing wouldn't stop the spread of the swine flu virus, saying vaccinations must be the defense against a menace that one report said could infect up to half of the population.

CDC

CDC Media Relations Team Offers Highlighted, Embargoed Articles from Emerging Infectious Disease Journal

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?s (CDC) media relations team has launched a new service for journalists.

Study Shows Benefits of Biculturalism

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supported study shows that Latino adolescents in the United States who maintain ties to their culture of origin are more likely to develop healthy behaviors than their peers who do not.

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Education to Announce Updated School Guidance for Influenza Season

Secretaries Sebelius, Duncan, and Napolitano will host a press conference to release updated guidance for schools during the upcoming influenza season.

NIH

NHLBI Awards Recovery Act Funds to Support Study of Parents' Role in Adolescent Eating and Activity Behaviors

A study examining the role of parents and the home environment in adolescents' food intake, physical activity, body image and weight control behaviors, is among the research grants awarded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), from funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act).

NIH to hold press telebriefing on August 26 following State-of-the-Science Conference on Family History and Improving Health

Following expert presentations, discussions, and weighing of evidence on August 24 and 25, the State-of-the-Science Conference panel will hold a press telebriefing to discuss their assessment of what we know and what we need to learn to effectively leverage family history information to assess disease risk and improve health outcomes.

NIH Researchers Identify Key Factor that Stimulates Brain Cancer Cells to Spread

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that the activity of a protein in brain cells helps stimulate the spread of an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In a move toward therapy, the researchers showed that a small designer protein can block this activity and reduce the spreading of GBM cells grown in the laboratory.

WHO

World Humanitarian Day

18 August 2009 -- World Humanitarian Day is an occasion for paying tribute to the men and women who work to save the lives and protect the health of people affected by emergencies, whether caused by conflict or natural disasters. These are often life-threatening situations, and those who offer help put their own lives at risk.

Breastfeeding: a vital emergency response. Are you ready?

31 July 2009 -- WHO is pleased to join the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action in celebrating World Breastfeeding Week from 1 to 7 August 2009. This year's theme stresses the importance of breastfeeding as a life-saving intervention, especially during emergencies.

Elimination of river blindness feasible

21 July 2009 -- Elimination of river blindness is feasible with ivermectin treatment, according to new evidence published today. Over 37 million people, mainly in rural Africa, are infected with this disease, also known as onchocerciasis.

In the News

08/11/2009 13:00 EDT

Women's Health Fair Offers Skin Cancer Screening, HPV Vaccination

07/17/2009 14:30 EDT

HEALTH Approves Roger Williams Hospital, St. Joseph's Health Services Affiliation

07/17/2009 11:30 EDT

HEALTH Issues Findings Of Inspection At Kent Hospital

07/15/2009 14:45 EDT

HEALTH Identifies Remains as Joseph "Joe Onions" Scanlon

07/07/2009 13:15 EDT

HEALTH Announces Second Death Due To H1N1 In Rhode Island

07/07/2009 10:15 EDT