RI Ranks as the Worst in New England to Have a Baby
GoLocalProv News Team
RI Ranks as the Worst in New England to Have a Baby
According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Rhode Island is ranked last in New England, but ranked 13th best in the U.S.
“One important expense to keep in mind is medical and hospital bills. According to the International Federation of Health Plans, Americans pay the highest birthing costs in the world, with the price tag of normal delivery averaging $10,808. A C-section goes up by another $5,298. Without maternity health coverage, including Medicaid, you can expect those prices to double or even triple,” said WalletHub.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn New England, Vermont ranks #1 in the U.S., New Hampshire ranks #3, Connecticut #4, Massachusetts #6, Maine #7, and RI #13.
RI’s Rankings
- T-35th Best - Highest Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges
- 14th Best - Healthcare
- 7th Best - Baby-Friendliness
- 18th Best - Family Friendliness
Overall Rankings
RI ranks directly behind Colorado and South Dakota, who rank 11th and 12th respectively. RI ranks ahead of Hawaii and Washington, who rank 14th and 15th respectively.
Vermont is ranked as the best state to have a baby, while Mississippi is ranked as the worst state to have a baby.
See the full rankings in the map below
The Method
In order to determine the best and worst states to have a baby, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across four key dimensions: 1) Cost, 2) Health Care, 3) Baby-Friendliness and 4) Family-Friendliness.
They evaluated those dimensions using 20 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for expectant parents and newborns.
Lastly, they determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank the states.
Cost – Total Points: 20
- Hospital Cesarean-Delivery Charges: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Average Annual Cost of Early Child Care: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Average Health-Insurance Premiums: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
Healthcare- Total Points: 40
- Infant Mortality Rate: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100,000 Live Births): Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Rate of Low Birth-Weight: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Rate of Preterm Births: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Share of Children with All Seven Recommended Vaccines: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Quality of Women’s Hospitals: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Quality of Pediatric Neonatology Facilities: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Midwives & Obstetrician-Gynecologists per Capita: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Pediatricians & Family Doctors per Capita: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
- Fertility Clinics per Capita: Quarter Weight (~0.98 Points)
- mPINC Survey Score: Full Weight (~3.90 Points)
Baby-Friendliness - Total Points: 20
- Parental-Leave Policy Score: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
- Mom Groups per Capita: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
- Child-Care Centers per Capita: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
- Share of Nationally Accredited Child-Care Centers: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Family-Friendliness - Total Points: 20
- Family-Friendliness: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
The Power List - Health and Education, 2016
Inside Man
Russell Carey - A name few outside of Brown’s campus know, but Carey is the power source at the Providence Ivy League institution.
Today, his title is Executive Vice President and he has had almost every title at Brown short of President. Carey is a 1991 graduate of Brown and has never left College Hill.
While Brown’s President Christine Paxson — who is functionally invisible in Rhode Island — is managing alumni affairs and fundraising, Carey is influencing almost everything in Rhode Island.
Top Raimondo Appointment
Nicole Alexander-Scott - MD, MPH, and rock star in the making. As Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, she is fast developing a reputation as someone in the Raimondo Administration who can get things done. Her counsel and leadership on developing a strategy on opioid addiction has been widely been lauded.
In addition, she has handled the mundane - from beach closings to food recalls - with competency. An expert in infectious disease, it may be time for her to become a strong leader on Zika.
The CEO
Ronald Machtley - Bryant University's President rightfully deserves to be on a lot of lists, but what few understand is that Machtley’s influence extends far beyond Bryant’s campus in Smithfield. Machtley could make this list as a business leader or as a political force as much as for education.
Machtley is recognized for transforming Bryant University from a financially struggling regional college to a university with a national reputation for business.
Machtley serves on Amica’s Board and the Rhode Island Foundation, and also serves on the Board of Fantex Brands.
Power Broker
Larry Purtill - While Bob Walsh gets the face time as the Executive Director in the media for the NEA of Rhode Island, NEARI President Purtill tends to be the inside man who gets things done.
The teachers' largest union is formidable, but is still reeling from the beat down it took when Gina Raimondo’s pension reform cut the benefits of teachers disproportionately over other employee groups.
Make no mistake about it - not much happens in education in Rhode Island without Purtill's sign-off.
Visionary
Mim Runey - While Rhode Islanders wait, and wait some more, for development on the 195 land, Johnson and Wale's University's Runey is watching it come to fruition, as JWU is set to open the first completed building on the former Interstate on September 1, when it will host a ribbon cutting for its John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation.
Under Runey, JWU continues to establish its foothold as one of the country's top schools for culinary training. Now Runey will oversee the addition of the new building on the old 195 which will house the university's School of Engineering and Design and its biology program.
In 2015, students from the School of Engineering & Design participated in the construction of the Holocaust Memorial on South Main Street, a collaboration between the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and the Holocaust Education Resource Center of Rhode Island.
A true community partner in every sense, JWU under Runey's watchful eye is expanding to an even greater presence in Providence.
Chairman of the Board
Edwin J. Santos - The former banker is Chairman of the Board of CharterCare, after having been a top executive at Citizens Bank. He has been a board leader for Crossroads, Washington Trust, Rocky Hill School -- you name it and Santos has helped to lead it.
His best work to date just might be at CharterCare, where he has helped the once fledgling hospital (Roger Williams Medical Center) into a growing hospital system.
Lion Tamer
Weber Shill - He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of University Orthopedics, or in other words, dozens and dozens of oh-so-confident docs.
Shill has a background in Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration from the Whitemore School at the University of New Hampshire. Experienced in managing medical groups, but this group is big and influential.
Boss
Timothy Babineau - President and CEO of Lifespan, Rhode Island's biggest healthcare organization, where financial challenges make the job that much more complicated.
Now, the critics (GoLocalProv included) are raising concerns about the multi- billion dollar organization's refusal to make any contribution to the City of Providence. Lifespan is like General Motors, big and hard to innovate the organization.
