Recognition Comes as Brown University Health’s Expanding Footprint Raises Access Concerns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts Communities
NEWPORT, RI, UNITED STATES, May 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Moms Over Margins, a grassroots advocacy organization based in Newport County, Rhode Island, today announced co-founder Cassie Voll has been named the recipient of the 2026 Community Hero Award presented by Primary Care for All Americans (PC4AA). The award will be presented at the inaugural Health Care Renaissance Summit on May 20, 2026, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Voll is being recognized for leading the community campaign that saved the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital, the only labor and delivery unit on Aquidneck Island, when Brown University Health (BUH) signaled it was considering closing the facility in July 2025.
Working with the Coalition for Newport Hospital Birthing Center, Voll organized parents, neighbors, and clinicians in a campaign that included marches, rallies, a petition with more than 3,200 signatures, and resolutions from multiple town councils. The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center delivers nearly 500 babies annually and was the 40th hospital in the United States to be designated as “Baby-Friendly” by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
“This campaign has truly been a community effort. Though we’ve been successful in our initial goals, there is still work to be done to ensure the longevity of the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center and maintain this essential community resource for generations to come,” said Voll.
In April 2026, BUH announced the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center will remain open, with the caveat that nearly $5 million in additional annual revenue is needed to sustain the facility. The fight to preserve maternal healthcare in Newport also carries direct implications for Massachusetts.
BUH acquired St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and Morton Hospital in Taunton, Massachusetts. Those hospitals have since posted significant losses.
“What’s happening in Newport is not an isolated story. Brown University Health now runs hospitals across the state line. The same financial pressures that put our birthing center at risk can potentially affect any community,” explained Voll.
Moms Over Margins has demonstrated how communities can hold large health systems accountable, even when facing an institution with the combined resources and brand of Brown University.
For more information on Moms Over Margins, contact momsovermargins@gmail.com. For conference details visit pc4aasummit.netlify.app.
ABOUT MOMS OVER MARGINS
Moms Over Margins is a grassroots advocacy group based in Newport County dedicated to preserving the high-quality, evidence-based, compassionate care provided by the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital, which houses the county’s only labor and delivery unit. We believe that budgets should not be balanced on the backs of our babies and mothers should not have to carry more burden because of institutional and governmental decisions that do not prioritize women’s healthcare. For more information, contact momsovermargins@gmail.com.
ABOUT PRIMARY CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS
Primary Care for All Americans (PC4AA) is a national grassroots advocacy organization working to ensure every person, in every community, has access to a primary care clinician. PC4AA brings together clinicians, community organizers, students, and policymakers from across the country to rebuild the U.S. primary care system through advocacy, community organizing, and policy reform. Learn more at primarycareforallamericans.org.
Neko Catanzaro
Proven Media
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