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Date October 20, 2022
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Support from Brown to help create new labor, delivery center at Women & Infants Hospital

Upon completion, the Brown University Labor and Delivery Center will offer an exceptional birth and recovery environment for families from across the region.

Labor and Delivery Center
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In recognition of a $5 million gift from Brown University, Care New England will name a new, state-of-the-art facility at Women & Infants Hospital the Brown University Labor and Delivery Center.

Labor and Delivery Center Room
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Rooms in the new center will be designed to better accommodate the range of child delivery experiences desired by patients. They will be 400 square feet in size, which will not only increase comfort for patients but better accommodate extended family, birth partners and doulas.

Labor and Delivery Center
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Four out of five families from Rhode Island give birth at Women & Infants Hospital. CNE expects to begin construction on the new Brown University Labor and Delivery Center in early 2024.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A $5 million gift from Brown University will support plans by Care New England — one of Rhode Island’s major health care systems and an affiliate of Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School —  to build a new, technologically advanced labor and delivery center at Women & Infants Hospital.

In recognition of the gift, CNE will name its state-of-the-art facility the Brown University Labor and Delivery Center, which will be designed to meet the specific needs of birthing families from Rhode Island and the surrounding region and their dedicated medical providers.

Care New England announced the gift on Thursday, Oct. 20.

Dr. James E. Fanale, president and CEO of Care New England, said that four out of five families from Rhode Island give birth at Women & Infants, the leading innovator in the fields of normal and high-risk obstetrics and neonatology. While the hospital’s existing labor and delivery suite has served patients well for more than 35 years, evolving medical protocols, technologies and patient expectations necessitate an update.

“The redesigned and expanded labor and delivery center will provide an exceptional environment to support Women & Infants Hospital’s excellence and commitment to world-class medical care, and it would not be possible without our deep, long-standing relationship with our academic partner, Brown University,” Fanale said. “The University’s investment will anchor efforts to build a facility that will have a tremendously positive impact on regional health care and will benefit a significant proportion of people giving birth in the region, and their families, for generations to come.”

“The University’s investment will anchor efforts to build a facility that will have a tremendously positive impact on regional health care and will benefit a significant proportion of people giving birth in the region, and their families, for generations to come.”

Dr. James E. Fanale President and CEO, Care New England

The $5 million gift adds to philanthropic support received to date toward what’s estimated to be a $28 million construction project. Brown President Christina H. Paxson said the University embraces the opportunity to support the care of women and families in Rhode Island, as well as the many accomplished medical practitioners at Women & Infants who serve as faculty members at the Warren Alpert Medical School.

“Brown’s support for the labor and delivery center not only reflects the important partnership between Brown and Care New England, but it also demonstrates how cooperation across institutions can serve the people of Rhode Island and elevate the level of health care in the state,” Paxson said. “Close coordination between physicians and researchers translates to excellent medical care and patient outcomes, and we’re pleased to support this project and the health of families from across the region.”

CNE expects to begin construction on the Brown University Labor and Delivery Center in early 2023.

“The project to create this new labor and delivery center is driven by our commitment to providing the best possible care to patients and their families and elevating clinical practice,” said Dr. Methodius Tuuli, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the medical school. “For patients, the new center will support a more personalized birth experience. For medical and academic partners, it will offer improved clinical team communication and an enhanced ability to recruit and retain top clinical and research talent.”

Paxson noted that Brown and CNE remain in ongoing conversations about additional measures of support from Brown to ensure strong and productive partnerships between the University and the health system.

[Editor's Note: An initial version of this story misstated the expected timeline for construction. The date has now been corrected.]

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Brown and Providence Warren Alpert Medical School

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