Rhode Island Hospital is a 719-bed non-for-profit facility located in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1863 with a donation from Moses Brown Ives, the hospital continues its mission of being “at the forefront of patient care by creating, applying, and sharing the most advanced knowledge in health care,” to this day. Rhode Island Hospital is the largest hospital in the State of Rhode Island, it is the principal teaching hospital of the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and it is a national leader in research. Hasbro Children’s is the Pediatric Division of Rhode Island Hospital and the principal pediatric teaching hospital for the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The Andrew F. Anderson Emergency Department at Rhode Island Hospital is the only Level 1 trauma center in southeastern New England. The Anderson ED, serving adult patients, encompasses 50,000 square feet. This state-of-the-art facility features 72 urgent rooms, six critical care bays (each with the capacity for two patients), multiple procedure rooms, and two CT scanners and an MRI machine within the emergency department.  There is also an ED cardiac catheterization lab as well as observation units for low-risk chest pain as well as TIA. Other services include 24-hour interpreters, 24-hour radiologist support in the department, 24-hour social work availability, a full toxicology laboratory, and many other support services necessary for a busy teaching hospital. 105,000 patients are treated in the Anderson ED annually, making it one of the busiest emergency departments in the Northeast. 

The Hasbro Children’s Emergency Department encompasses 12,200 square feet and features trauma and resuscitation bays for critically ill children, dedicated rooms for orthopedics, pediatric sedations and behavioral health. The Hasbro ED is staffed 24/7 by specialists trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and is the only American College of Surgeons’ Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center for Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts, and Eastern Connecticut. A dozen regional hospitals routinely refer patients to the Hasbro Emergency Department. The facility includes 24 individual treatment beds and 4 holding unit beds, 10 “overflow”/urgent care beds, as well as a private family room which is ideal for confidential conversations and participant interactions. The annual HCH emergency department volume exceeds 50,000 patients, making it the second busiest pediatric emergency department in New England. The department is staffed by board-certified pediatric emergency medicine attendings, all of whom are full faculty members in the Department of Emergency Medicine. The Center for Pediatric Imaging and Sedation is located next to the emergency department and, in addition, a radiology suite is located within the emergency department. Both features enable the department to provide patients fast, easy access to radiology services.

The Miriam Hospital is an outstanding 247-bed academic community hospital located on Providence’s East Side. The Miriam Hospital was named the best hospital in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts by US News and World Reports in their 2012-2013 ranking and has received the Magnet Award for Excellence in Nursing Services four times in recognition of its outstanding nursing culture. The hospital is known for its cardiac care at the Cardiovascular Institute, as an award-winning Stroke Center, as a regional orthopedic referral center with the Total Joint Center, bariatrics, urology, and many other services. The Miriam Hospital Emergency Department cares for approximately 60,000 patients per year in 47 beds. Emergency department acuity is consistently high, with an admission rate of approximately 30 percent. The patient population spans all ages, with a significant geriatric component, and socioeconomically reflects the hospital's location in a middle-class neighborhood in close proximity to Brown.

Founded 1873, Newport Hospital began as a 12-bed cottage hospital on donated land. Today, it is a 129-bed community hospital offering a full spectrum of services needed by the community, including an award-winning birthing center, emergency department, surgical services, a renowned rehabilitation center, a wound care program, diagnostic imaging, behavioral health, and community-based practices for primary and specialty care. Newport Hospital is the only acute care hospital in Newport County. It has earned Magnet designation for excellence in nursing three times. The Newport Hospital Emergency Department handles about 31,000 patient visits each year, both for minor problems and to treat acutely ill or injured patients. The ED has 17 beds, 9 licensed physicians, 2 physician assistants, and a full staff of specially trained nurses to triage and provide care.

The hospitals use a single Electronic Health Record system (Epic), guaranteeing seamless communication at all levels of the institution. The system provides real-time information regarding patient age, complaint, and other demographics from the time that a patient presents to the emergency department. Numerous Epic workstations, both fixed and portable, are located throughout the emergency department, the Center for Medical Imaging, the Operating Suite, the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and the surgical wards, as well as within the Pediatric Emergency Medicine office suite and in the Emergency Medicine Research Assistants’ office. Project research assistants use tablet computers to securely screen potential patients and to complete baseline measures for those enrolled. This blend of information technologies permits effective and secure data collection, transmission, storage, and analysis. These resources provide the research team with the facilities necessary for research development, research implem­entation, analysis, and preparation of data reports and manuscripts. 

As injury is the leading cause of death of children and young adults in Rhode Island, the Injury Prevention Center (IPC) based at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital dedicates itself to studying and preventing injuries through community outreach programs, research, and education. Rhode Island has the highest percentage of alcohol-related casualties in the United States, and the IPC has a particular focus on identifying individuals at higher risk of alcoholism and addiction in order to reduce that rate. IPC researchers also study motor vehicle safety, drug abuse, medical student and resident education, bicycle safety, fire safety, and home safety. The IPC is led and staffed by the Department of Emergency Medicine. 

The Brown University Health Medical Simulation Center (Sim Center) is a state-of-the-art 3,000 square foot facility which helps train medical professionals and medical students in specialized techniques through high fidelity medical simulation, in order to minimize medical error in complicated, high-stress situations. At the Sim Center, academic emergency physicians develop and run training curricula and conduct research studies. The Sim Center applies engineering principles directly to the development of improved patient care models. The Sim Center is led and staffed by the Department of Emergency Medicine.

The Department of Emergency Medicine was established in 2005 with the mission of providing high-quality emergency patient care, excellent education, and state-of-the-art research. Under the leadership of Chair and Physician-in-Chief Dr. Linda Brown, the department is rated among the top 10 percent of the nation’s educational programs in Emergency Medicine, with approximately 400 medical graduates applying for 13 residency positions each year. 

The Department of Emergency Medicine is managed by Brown Emergency Medicine, a foundation of the Brown Physicians, Inc. physician practice group. Our faculty members hold appointments at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and are all board-certified emergency physicians who staff the EDs at Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, and Newport Hospital caring for over 250,000 patients per year collectively. 

Our faculty members also hold joint appointments in the departments of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Community Health at the Brown Alpert Medical School, as well as the Division of Engineering at Brown University, and are dedicated to both providing high-quality instruction to medical students and residents and advancing health care through innovative research. 

The Department of Emergency Medicine has over 120 academic emergency physicians who all hold faculty appointments at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and staff the EDs at Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, and Newport Hospital. This academic department has a strong history in encouraging faculty members to seek and obtain federal and foundation funding for academic research, and with over $7.5 million in external funding annually, ranks among the top-funded departments of EM in the nation. The Department recently received a $12 million P20 NIGMS award for the Injury Control COBRE at Rhode Island Hospital. The COBRE is directed by PI’s primary mentor Dr. Mello. An EM faculty member is Co-PI on the COBRE for Opioids and Overdose at Rhode Island Hospital. The Department currently has nine NIH-funded investigators. Currently active within the Department are over 40 NIH funded awards including, one P20 grant, one UH3 grant, two R34 grants, two R21 grants, one R33 grant, one K23 award which support clinical research. The Department also currently holds one DOJ grant, one grant from NHTSA / Rhode Island DOT, and several foundation grants. The Department has funding from HRSA to participate in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) as a site in the SPARC node, and four PECARN studies are currently active in our department. Scientific advisor, Dr. Chun is the site PI for PECARN at Hasbro Children’s Emergency Department. The Department is also a site for the Network for Emergency Care Clinical Trials: Strategies to Innovate EmeRgENcy Care Clinical Trials Network (SIREN). Additionally, several industry-sponsored trials are currently active in the Emergency Departments at Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, and Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Through faculty mentoring, the department has enabled early-stage investigators access to the advice and experience of more established funded researchers. The department holds didactic seminar session conducted by more senior investigators to help early-stage investigators design and develop research ideas and to write grant applications. The Department allocates funding to faculty through an annual competitive grant mechanism to support the development of research activities that will lead to externally funded grants. In addition, faculty, fellows, and residents are encouraged to apply for departmental seed funding throughout the year, to support pilot studies that will lead to eventual publication or further funding. 

The Department sponsors programs which allow faculty members to mentor student researchers who assist in the collection of preliminary data and enroll participants in studies. The Summer Research Assistantship in Emergency Medicine (SRA-EM) and the Emergency Medicine Research Intern (EMRIntern) Program allow undergraduate and medical students to gain valuable research experience. 

The Department has established an infrastructure to assist with both applying for and managing research funding, and coordinating the conduct of research projects. A Research Manager oversees the Department’s research activities and two pre-award Research Administrators coordinate grant submissions. The Department’s clinical research program is supported by a Clinical Research Supervisor, three Clinical Research Coordinators, a Regulatory Coordinator, two Data Coordinators, and ten Clinical Research Assistants who cover 130 hours per week at the Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Department and 100 hours per week at The Miriam Hospital Emergency Department. 

Already available to the faculty physicians are desktop personal computers (PCs) equipped with Microsoft® Office and EndNote® reference management software. High-speed internet connection is provided through the Department of Emergency Medicine. Faculty physicians each have dedicated office space in the Claverick Building, which is in the burgeoning Knowledge District of Providence. The Claverick Building is the academic, administrative, and research center for the Department of Emergency Medicine, and is located less than ¼ mile from Rhode Island Hospital, less than 1 mile from the Brown School of Public Health and the Alpert Medical School. The offices are equipped with multi-line telephones with voicemail and conference call capability. The department provides all other office equipment, such as high-capacity printers and copiers, necessary for the success of clinical trials. The Department of Emergency Medicine has multiple conference rooms in the Claverick Building capable of telephone and video conferencing with remote locations, as well as state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment. 

Rhode Island Hospital-based research investigators and staff have complete access to the online library services through Brown University. This includes online free access to one of the largest electronic journal collections in the United States as well as access to the numerous scientific and general libraries of the university.