Kymuana Lumpkins had never thought much about buying baby formula because she’d always planned to breastfeed. But in December, despite being vaccinated against the coronavirus, Lumpkins, her husband and their five-month-old daughter, Rosabella, came down with COVID-19. Lumpkins said Roseabella wasn’t nursing as much. “One week she was one size,” Lumpkins said, “and then we […]
Lynn Arditi
Lynn joined The Public's Radio as health reporter in 2017 after more than three decades as a journalist, including 28 years at The Providence Journal. Her series "A 911 Emergency," a project of the 2019 ProPublica Local Reporting Network, won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award in the radio/podcast category in 2020.
A native of New York City, she graduated from Oberlin College and landed her first journalism job at The Center for Investigative Reporting (now known as Reveal) in Washington, D.C., where she did story development for 60 Minutes. When the T.V. market imploded in 1987, the D.C. office of CIR closed and within a year she moved to Massachusetts to take a reporting job at the former Holyoke Transcript-Telegram, a small daily newspaper.
A year later, she moved to Providence, R.I. to work at The Providence Journal. There, she worked for several years as a bureau reporter covering schools and local issues, before she began covering statewide beats including higher education, the economy, housing and health care. During those years, she also honed her skills in narrative journalism, and served as chairwoman of the newspaper’s writing committee. Her work has been recognized by New England Associated Press News Executives Association and the Society of American Business Editors & Writers.
Lynn is mom to two sons and lives in Barrington with her husband and their dog.
Posted inArticle, Health
What Rhode Islanders need to know about the US Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, ending a half-century guarantee of federal constitutional protection of abortion rights. It’s now up to each state to decide whether to restrict or ban abortion. Health reporter Lynn Arditi talked with our host Dave Fallon about what this means for Rhode Island. […]
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Departing interim health director: R.I. public health needs a booster
Rhode Island Interim Health Director Dr. James McDonald is stepping down later this month. He spoke with Health reporter Lynn Arditi about the pandemic and challenges that lie ahead. [This transcript has been edited.] Arditi: Dr. McDonald, your decision to step down as the Health Department’s interim director comes at a time when we’ve seen […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Rhode Island interim health director leaving
Rhode Island’s interim health director, Dr. James V. McDonald, is stepping down from his post, Governor Dan McKee’s office announced Thursday. McDonald, 59, who has led the Health Department since Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott stepped down as director in mid-January, is leaving to move closer to his family in upstate New York, where he is originally […]
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A neighborhood clinic in Providence, R.I. opens the country’s first COVID-19 test-to-treat center
Rhode Island will launch the nation’s first federally funded COVID-19 test-to-treat center at a storefront clinic in Providence, Governor Daniel J. McKee and White House COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, announced Thursday. Clínica Esperanza, in the city’s Olneyville section, will allow eligible residents who have no insurance coverage to get the antiviral Paxlovid at no […]
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A plea to expand abortion access in Rhode Island
About 85,000 women of child-bearing age are enrolled in state health insurance plans that do not cover abortions, according to an anaylsis by the State Budget Office. Legislation re-introduced in the General Assembly this session by state Representative Liana M. Cassar, D-Barrington, and Senator Bridget Valverde, D-North Kingstown, would allow abortions to be covered by […]
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Rhode Island’s top health official: No more mask mandates, just recommendations
Rhode Island this week reported the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country, according to The New York Times. Driven by the rise of the more contagious Omicron subvariant, known as BA.2, the average daily increase in new COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island during the last two weeks has more than doubled, although […]
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Updates on coronavirus in RI and MA
This is an archived version of our coronavirus page. For the most up-to-date information, please visit https://thepublicsradio-devqa.newspackstaging.com/article/coronavirus-updates-2022 For information about COVID-19 vaccinations visit C19vaccineRI.org. A list of Rhode Island’s state-run test sites and their holiday hours is available here. The Latest R.I. school districts with vaccination rates below the statewide average of 48% include: Newport […]
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Communities are divided over Rhode Island’s plan for safe drug injection sites
Representative Stephen M. Casey is an unlikely crusader for supervised drug injection sites. A Democrat from Woonsocket, R.I., he’s also a Catholic and self-described conservative. He’s against abortion rights. And he supports the Second Amendment right to own a gun. “So my first reaction was like no way,’’ Casey said. “As a rescue guy I’m […]
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Rhode Island Kids Count: More children hospitalized for neglect and abuse
Rhode Island had a 145% increase in the number of children hospitalized due to abuse and/or neglect in 2020, according to data released Tuesday by the nonprofit Rhode Island Kids Count. The report said 98 children were hospitalized for abuse and/or neglect in 2020, compared with 40 children in 2019, the most recent data published. […]