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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 November 28, 2008

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 Find the survey score of a nursing home Find out about food recalls in the Rhode Island area Request information from the Health Department File a complaint against a health professional File a no-smoking complaint	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

Quit Smoking Now! 1-800-TRY-TO-STOP 1-800-879-8678 trytostop.org

Information regarding Fire Safe Cigarettes
The Department of Health is postponing implementation of Fire Safe Cigarettes regulations indefinitely. Do not submit certifications until directed to do so via this web site. Please check this site periodically for updates regarding an implementation date. Questions may be directed to Jan Shedd, Team Lead for Health Promotion and Wellness at 402-222-5927.

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

Brand-name drugs no better than generics: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is no evidence that brand-name drugs given to treat heart and other cardiovascular conditions work any better than their cheaper generic counterparts, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Allergic reactions to Gardasil uncommon: study

LONDON (Reuters) - A study of Merck & Co Inc's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil found that allergic reactions were uncommon and most young women can tolerate subsequent doses, Australian researchers said on Wednesday.

Lots of TV and Web harms kids' health

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spending a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Web makes children more prone to a range of health problems including obesity and smoking, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Yahoo Health

Young doctors still too tired for safety, report finds (AP)

AP - Doctors-in-training are still too exhausted, says a new report that calls on hospitals to let them have a nap. Regulations that capped the working hours of bleary-eyed young doctors came just five years ago, limiting them to about 80 hours a week.

Doctors separating joined twins in London (AP)

AP - British doctors conducted surgery to separate twins joined at the chest on Tuesday, hospital officials said.

1 in 5 young adults has personality disorder, researchers report (AP)

AP - Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

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

New Data Provide Comprehensive Understanding of Americans' Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Experimental TB Drug Explodes Bacteria from the Inside Out

Variations in Gene Activity Can Predict the Survival of Patients with Lymphoma

WHO

Essential medicines out of reach for most people

1 December 2008 -- An alarming lack of availability of essential medicines in the public sector drives patients to pay higher prices in the private sector or go without, according to a WHO study reported in todayâ€™s online edition of The Lancet.

WHO welcomes the new Executive Director of UNAIDS

1 December 2008 -- On behalf of WHO, Director-General Dr Margaret Chan has offered warmest congratulations to Michel SidibÃ© on his appointment as Executive Director of UNAIDS, and expressed WHO's firm commitment and full support to him in his new position.

Message for World AIDS Day

1 December 2008 -- The 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day this year also marks a major milestone in the long struggle against this disease. More than 3 million people in low- and middle-income countries are now receiving life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy. The response to AIDS changed the face of public health in profound ways, says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, reflecting on some of the achievements of the past 20 years.

In the News

11/17/2008 13:15 EST

HEALTH Gets $4.5 Million Grant to Promote Childhood Health and Development

11/11/2008 13:30 EST

McGuire School To Reopen on Wednesday

11/10/2008 16:45 EST

Summary of Information Regarding Lead Abatement at McGuire School November 10, 2008

11/06/2008 11:30 EST

FDA Recalls Mislabeled Insulin Syringes

10/30/2008 14:30 EDT

November 1 Is Flu Vaccination Day

10/27/2008 14:15 EDT