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Rhode Islanders are being duped, and unfortunately no one cares about quality of healthcare until it is too late. We take quality for granted yet the Healthcare Industry IS the most deadly.

Lifespan, Care New Englad and Brown are presenting a great "marketing" picture of the merger, buy do not provide ANY facts, but their speculation for their own benefit.

Do not be fooled, healthcare is NOT charitable, it IS a business, whether labeled for profit or non-profit. Healthcare in the US is a $2.2 trillion enterprise, 3 times our defense budget, and it is ripe for abuse, waste, fraud and corruption. The US has the highest per capita spend in the world, yet ranks last in quality and mortality.

Estimates of over 1000 patients die every day in the US from preventable harm. As studies mention, much higher since accurate records are difficult to obtain. This is only deaths from preventable harm, not medical errors.

The world ground the 737 for 20 months after 2 crashes in 132 days killed 346 people. In those 132 days over 1.7 million people died from preventable harm in Healthcare. Why do we except these deaths and brush them away? As healthcare costs increase, quality is not increasing with it.

Statistics show you will experience at least one adverse adventure in your lifetime, whether it is a delayed or inaccurate diagnosis, missed diagnoses, medication incidences, etc..

Merging Lifespan and Care New England, affiliated with Brown, will not produce world class care. Neither entity has Excellence in safety ratings.

RI ranks 31st for the percent of A safety rated hospitals, according to Leapfrog.

Brown Medical School ranks 36th in the country for quality of medical research and 19th in overall med school rankings.

Merging the two entities will NOT address the issue that RI ranks 50th, the worst state for doctors to practice, for opportunity & competition, and medical environment.

In 34. States, for profit in patient care is less than nonprofits, 12 states nonprofits are less than for profit and 5 states do not have for profit.

According to Health Affairs, despite tax breaks, nonprofit hospitals are not matching charity care of for profit counterparts. For every $100 in spend, nonprofits provided $2.30 in charity care while for profits provided $3.80, 65% more.

The spin on the merger is not based on actual facts, but speculation. RI will always need healthcare, Brown will work to advance their research, with or without a merger, Jobs WILL be lost with a merger. A merger does NOT, and will NOT create a center of academic and research excellence since neither entity has an existing model or record of excellence.

RI, with leadership, can and will attract more biotechnology and research based on its proximity to Boston and New York. It will not dissappear with a merger.

Care WILL NOT be sent out of state if Care New England were purchased for profit. RI learned a lesson with Prospect, venture capital firms are vultures. Partners had already begun investment in care in RI with the new Brigham and Women's cardiac center at Bulter Campus and Spaulding Rehab. I have spoken with numerous healthcare professionals and they are NOT for the merger.

Had Partners purchased CNE, just as Babineau, Finale and Paxton say their prices will not increase, they spread nonfactual information that Partners would increase prices and send care to Boston. I am a patient with MassGeneral and Brigham, I spoke with numerous doctors and in no way were they going to send care to Boston. The only patients for Boston would be situational cases based on a number of medical factors.

The facts are that a merger of Lifespan and CNE, is not only illegal, violating antitrust laws captivating 86% of RI's population, eliminating choice and taking away a patients ability to obtain an independent, OBJECTIVE second opinion.

With the new bonused payment models, this merger is anything but the holy grail Babineau leads you to believe. Healthcare IS changing, and since Babineau has NOT focused on quality and change, it is his own doing for Lifespans lack of vision.

How is RI better off with an average rated, mega-monopoly in healthcare without choice? How is this merger financially better than the offer by actual hospital administrator executives that put forth a $550 million dollar deal of investment into RI?

They would have fully funded the $150 million pension fund, retired CNE debt AND invested $300 million in capital improvements.

How is Brown giving $25 million a year for 5 years a better deal? How is the pension being funded? How is debt being addressed? What will be capital investments?

With for profit acquisitions of nonprofits, (the right organization) ongoing capital commitments are more common than nonprofits. Capital investments are not big hurdles for profit organizations. It is proper due diligence that will find the best for profit organization for CNE.

Also, other facts from Commonwealth Fund, are that when mergers of nonprofits take place CEO/Executives have seen a 93% increase in compensation while staff 8% and prices increase while quality declines.

As a Patient Safety Advocate with NOPQ, National Patient Safety Movement and World Health Organization, I am providing FACTS and not marketing someone's vision. Healthcare IS dangerous to patients and the disparities in Healthcare will become greater with a merger and as the bonused payment system is gamed for personal benefit.

Those who receive poor quality care in order of worst quality to better is: Poor, People of Color, LGBTQ, Medicaid and Medicare. Privately insured receive the best quality care, and EVERY person FOR the merger has PRIVATE insurance and experiences best quality, not perfect quality.

I have had over 200 appts in less than 18 months and while they had me taking $5000+ in medication a month, they said nothing was wrong. When I pointed out an error from a misdiagnosis and treatment from 2017 which has left me with numerous conditions and most significantly, damage to the executive function portion of my brain from that error. I was not angry and wanted to help address how it happened so it does not happen to anyone else, Lifespan not only ignored me, but blackballed me with inaccurate information saying my conditions were somatic. I have spent, and continue to research every single day, healthcare quality, safety and how I can help make patients aware there are ways to protect themselves. I have over 15000 research paper and subscribe to American Radiology, NEJM, Mayoclinic, Johns Hopkins, Researchgate, CDC, NIH, Oxford, Academia and numerous others while helping get to

As a former executive with a technology, data and root cause analysis background, I have made it my mission to help improve healthcare for YOU.

As I was denied SSDI numerous times, I finally obtained a hearing, and when I had a call with my attorney, first time in my 15 months of hiring, he really frustrated me when he had NO idea, and did not care what was wrong with me. They never even provided my records obtained from Lifespan with the error. I wrote a letter to the judge, not caring what his response was going to be but more to clear my name and that I DID not WANT disability, I NEEDED IT.

I sent him only my actual records and blood tests going back to 2012 showing there has been chronic autoimmune disease, tissue disease, anemia, leukopenia, chronic inflammation, all from their blood tests. Lifespan and all doctors basically HID behind the WHITE WALL and said nothing was wrong.

The judge canceled the hearing and awarded me FULL SSDI back to the error. While yes it has relieved stress financially, it has not improved my physical health nor emotional health. I have always worked and NEVER used public assistance with the exception of periods of my unemployment. I now spend much time in bed due to physical pain, shortness of breath, erratic HBP, headaches and crippling back pain.

I know first hand how ONE system has taken away my ability to obtain quality care. I had to completely leave EVERY Lifespan doctor and specialist and switch to South County Health and Brigham & Womens, and finally have begun to get ACTUAL DIAGNOSES, error somewhat addressed, but the stigma from Lifespan is still present.

RI NEEDS PEOPLE who have influence like journalists to actually understand the dangers and daily deaths from preventable harm, the well documented disparities in care for certain groups across the country and not just produce "fluff" journalism, actually get THE FACTS on the dangers the merger would expose RI'ders.

I sent questions AND facts to Governor McKee and Gene Valicenti for the town hall Tuesday night. That was such a disgusting use of journalism and was a disservice to REAL substantial matters.

New license plates got plenty of time yet NOT EVEN A MENTION ABOUT THE MERGER! It is RI politics as usual! The one thing is that while quality of care is specific to groups, PREVENTABLE HARM IS NOT. I do not wish ill on anyone, but if it takes someone of influence or wealth to experience a life threatening event, so be it.

Rhode Islanders need a voice and need protection from the most deadly industry! The time it took me to wrote this, another 100+ people died in the US from Preventable Harm.

I have a friend who lost her life due to a missed diagnosis which was completely diagnosable on her first visit, she was on Dr Oz and he saw it in imaging and the symptoms all were present. She could have survived had it been properly diagnosed and treated.

You have a voice, use it! It is your life, protect it! Do not take a doctor on blind faith, be an educated patient, there are.resources and apps to help protect against preventable harm.

An invested patient advocate

Edward