Lifespan Community Affairs

Lifespan Neighborhood Relations

Delivering health with care extends beyond the buildings of our organization. As good neighbors, we welcome the opportunity to support nonprofits with programs and events that specifically and solely support the neighborhoods around our hospitals through community cohesion and environmental improvements. Some examples include street tree plantings, community gardens, community clean ups, and neighborhood park improvements.

Our approach to neighborhood relations is referred to as the 3-Bs: to Build our relationship with neighbors, to utilize our resources to Better the community, and to Balance conflicts and concerns as they occur.

Some of the ways we support each of the 3-Bs are:

  • Building our relationship, through regular communication including:
    • Newsletters
    • The Neighborhood Hotline
    • Attendance and regular participation in neighborhood events
    • Newport Hospital Community Lecture Series
  • Bettering the Community through sharing of resources, including:
    • The Miriam Hospital Community Investment Grants
    • The Miriam Hospital supporting the annual Holiday Needs Drive
    • Lifespan Community Health Institute supporting the Back to School Celebration
  • Balancing conflicts, by representing neighborhood concerns.

We recognize that our hospitals have residential neighbors living very close to our campuses. As good neighbors, we know that sometimes the operation of our hospitals has a disruptive effect on residents whose homes abut our buildings. Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital and Newport Hospital all have neighborhood hotlines that neighbors can call if they experience a quality of life concern.

Neighborhood Relations Committees

Our community liaison serves on internal committees that make decisions that can affect the quality of life for neighbors. Expand a title to learn more about each committee.

Landscaping and Architectural Committee

The landscaping and architectural committee works collaboratively with neighbors of The Miriam Hospital to envision and plan for new landscaping that abuts hospital property and the Summit neighborhood.

Parking Committee

The Miriam Hospital parking committee works to ensure that all employees have a parking space for their shift. The parking committee oversees compliance with the parking policy especially as it relates to neighborhood relations.

Community Sensitive Construction Committee

Our approach to construction projects aims to reduce negative impacts to residents living near construction sites on campus. Efforts include advanced notification of projects that would create noise, light, congestion or other disturbances.

Tobacco-Free Campus

Lifespan seeks to achieve its primary purpose of Delivering health with care by promoting healthy lifestyles and discouraging the use of products such as tobacco and recreational drugs that are known to cause harm. As a result of our commitment to creating a culture of health, all Lifespan campuses are tobacco-free and drug-free and, as such, Lifespan does not hire users of tobacco products, illegal drugs, or nonmedical marijuana. In addition, the health system provides many services, most of which are free of charge, to employees to assist them in improving their health and well-being.

Neighborhood Newsletters

Rhode Island, The Miriam, and Newport hospitals produce newsletters to keep neighbors informed of hospital news and events.

Read the latest newsletters below.

Learning from Our Community

Lifespan launched a series of forums in 2016 to better understand the health needs of the communities that surround our hospitals.

Read the reports (PDFs):

Learn more about Lifespan Community Affairs