American Lung Association 2014 Report Finds Worse Ozone Across RI
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
At the same time, two counties in Rhode Island cut year-round particle pollution (soot) levels compared to the 2013 report. This is in keeping with a trend seen across the nation of lower particle pollution levels. No county had more days when short-term particle pollution reached unhealthy levels.
“Rhode Island and Eastern states are at the mercy of prevailing winds that carry in soot and smog belched from the power plant chimneys of Rust Belt states. Unless and until the EPA takes action to reduce pollution from power plants, Rhode Island is stuck sucking the tail-pipe of the mid-western states,” said Stephen Majkut, leadership board member, American Lung Association in Rhode Island, and former Chief of Air Resources, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
Washington and Providence County received failing grades in this year’s report, down from a C and D, respectively. Washington had 6 more orange days and one more red day than in 2013 while Providence experienced seven more orange days. And while Kent received a passing grade, the county had 2 more orange days and was downgraded from a C to a D for ozone. At the same time, the Boston-Worcester-Providence metro area had worse ozone even though its ranking on the list of most polluted cities for ozone improved slightly.
ALA: Steps to Improve Air Quality
- Clean up power plants. The EPA needs to reduce carbon pollution. Ozone and particle pollution that blows across state lines must be controlled. In the next year, the Administration has pledged to set standards for carbon pollution from new and existing power plants.
- Strengthen the outdated ozone standards. The EPA needs to set a strong, health-based standard to limit ozone pollution. Strong standards will drive the needed cleanup of ozone across the nation.
- Clean up new wood-burning devices. The EPA needs to issue strong standards to clean up new wood stoves, outdoor wood boilers and other residential wood-burning devices.
- Fund the work to provide healthy air. Congress needs to adequately fund the work of the EPA and the states to monitor and protect the nation from air pollution.
- Protect the Clean Air Act. Congress needs to ensure that the protections under the Clean Air Act remain strong and enforced.
The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2014 report is an annual, national air quality “report card.” The 2014 report—the 15th annual release—uses the most recent quality assured air pollution data, compiled by the EPA, in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Data comes from the official monitors for the two most widespread types of pollution, ozone (smog) and particle pollution (PM 2.5, also known as soot). The report grades counties and ranks cities and counties based on their scores for ozone, year-round particle pollution and short-term particle pollution levels.
- Ozone grade dropped from a D to an F (14 orange unhealthy days, 7 more than in 2013 report)
- Short-term particle pollution grade remained a C(2 orange unhealthy days and one red unhealthy days, the same as in 2013)
- Annual level of particle pollution level improved.
- Ozone grade dropped from a C to a D; 7 orange unhealthy air days ( 2 more than in 2012)
- Short-term particle pollution grade remained an A (no unhealthy air days)
- Annual particle pollution level improved slightly
- Earned a place on the list of cleanest counties for short-term particle pollution
- Ozone grade dropped from a C to an F ( 12 unhealthy orange days, 6 more than in 2013 plus a red day)
- Washington County now has a particle pollution monitor but there is insufficient data to give a grade for either short-term or annual particle pollution.
Washington County now has a particle pollution monitor but there is insufficient data to give a grade for either short-term or annual particle pollution.
There are no air pollution monitors in Bristol or Newport counties.
Related Slideshow: 13 Biggest Healthcare Stories in RI in 2013
The most import stories from one of the most historic years in memory for Rhode Island healthcare.
13 Doctors Behaving Badly
Rhode Island Doctors Behaving Badly
Doctors, having professed in their professional lives to "do no harm," are typically looked at in their personal lives as upstanding citizens. But 2013 proved that not all doctors are cut from the same cloth.
With charges ranging from unprofessional behavior in the office to giving morphine to babies to breaking into a residence without permission at 3 in the morning and being in possession of marijuana, this breakdown of reprimanded doctors in 2013 is simply a must see.
12 Staying Healthy + Fit
10 Ways To Stay Healthy + Fit This Summer—Miriam Experts
Summer brings soaring temperatures, family cookouts and tempting warm-weather treats like ice cream and margaritas, and can easily sabotage your fitness and diet plans. That’s why leading nutrition and exercise experts at The Miriam Hospital shared their timeless top tips for staying fit and eating healthy while still having fun in the sun.
Summer fitness never goes out of style. Click here for tips you can use every year to maintain that beach body!
11 Well-Being Index
How Happy Is Rhode Island—Latest Gallup Well-Being Index
Rhode Island may need an attitude adjustment, according to the latest Well-Being Index numbers from Gallup-Healthways. The state's latest ranking for happiness is #37 in the nation, a drop of 2 spots from last year. And that ranking was a drop from the year before.
10 Retail Insurance
Smart Benefits: Health Insurers Go Retail
Healthcare reform has brought about lots of changes to the procurement of individual and family plans. Now, when you head to the mall, you'll be able to buy health insurance in addition to shopping for clothes. In a move that continues to gain steady momentum, leading health insurers across the country are opening retail stores to cater to individuals who now have to purchase health insurance on their own because of healthcare reform.
9 A Healthier You in 2013
13 Ways To Be Healthier in RI in 2013
As we embarked on 2013, Rhode Island's Director of Health, Michael Fine, MD, encouraged Rhode Islanders to make health and wellness a priority in the new year. Check out the 13 steps he recommended Rhode Islanders take to get and stay well in the new year. Whether you stuck to them or not in 2013, we find ourselves at another time for goal-setting and resolutions. Brush up on your healthy living and put your knowledge to good use in 2014!
8 RI’s Sexual Health
Rhode Island’s Sexual Health Worst In New England—New Ranking
Rhode Island's abysmal showing in the 2013 Sexual Health Rankings landed them at last place in New England.
The first-ever assessment of state-by-state data on 26 comprehensive health and services measures that speak to sexual health put the Ocean State at #19 overall in the US, and #6 among New England states.
7 Deloitte's Big Contract
Deloitte Awarded $105 Million Contract to Create New Healthcare System
Last January, Governor Lincoln Chafee announced that the State had awarded a $105 million contract to Deloitte Consulting to create the technology infrastructure to modernize the way the state administers Medicaid and other human service programs, and, most importantly, to create Rhode Island’s Health Benefits Exchange in compliance with the Affordable Care Act. Do you think Deloitte was the right choice? Read on for a breakdown of why Deloitte was chosen and the outlook on the exchange - who's rollout was not without its hiccups - while it was in just the conception phase.
6 Non-Profit Hospital CEO
Rhode Island Non-Profit Hospital CEOs Criticized For Big Paychecks
The American healthcare system may be quite deathly ill. But the paychecks CEOs of Rhode Island non-profit hospitals are quite healthy.
Because of the trend of for-profit chains buying non-profit hospitals, which has swept the nation over the last decade or so, only eight non-profit hospital groups remain in the Ocean State. Together, they control a total of 11 hospitals.
And you won't believe how handsomely the CEOs of these hospitals are paid.
5 Healthiest Counties
Rankings: Where the Healthiest Rhode Islanders Live
Where do the healthiest residents in Rhode Island live? According to 2013 rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national foundation focused on improving public health, Bristol County took top honors -- while Providence County was the bottom of the list of the five counties in the state.
4 Health Exchange Rebrand
Rhode Island’s First Health Benefits Exchange Launches
In July, The Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange announced a number of important updates and initiatives – including a new name and the creation of 70-100 new jobs – in preparation to enroll Rhode Islanders in quality affordable health insurance plans starting on October 1, 2013.
Dubbing the Health Exchange HealthSource RI and announcing the state's new contact center in Providence, the exchange announced it would employ 70-100 Rhode Islanders when fully operational who would be accessible to individuals and small employers to talk in-person or over the phone with engagement specialists who would provide personalized assistance in finding, comparing, and purchasing health insurance options available through HealthSource RI.
3 Heart Health
RI’s Go Red Day 2013: 10 Ways Women Can Keep Their Hearts Healthy
According to the AHA, nearly half of American women do not know that heart disease is their No. 1 killer, and less than half know the best blood pressure and cholesterol levels for cardiovascular health. Making red visible on Mondays could help sound the alarm and keep heart health ever present in the lives of American women.
2 Health Exchange Launch
Healthsource RI Announces Health Benefits Exchange Rates
In late August, HealthSource RI announced the plans and rates that were to be offered through the state's health benefits exchange when open enrollment began on October 1 for individuals and small businesses. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, United HealthCare, and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island all signed on to offer 28 plans through the exchange.
The exchange launched on October 1st with no shortage of hiccups, but the launch was relatively smooth by comparison to those in states whose exchanges were facilitated federally. By November, the exchange had processed over 4500 applicants. And by December the New York Times noted that the RI exchange was the second-best performing in the country with enrollment exceeding target rates by a sizeable margin.
1 Patients Rank Hospitals
New England’s Best Hospitals Rated By Patients
Traditionally, hospitals are rated and ranked on a combination of sound technical care, adequate resources, and impressive statistics. But an increasing emphasis is being placed on perhaps one of the more important measures: the patient’s perspective. With that in mind, GoLocal has sifted through and analyzed the results from a government-sponsored survey of more than 50,000 patients in 176 hospitals in New England (full chart here), and emerged with the first-ever patient-based ranking of the region’s top hospitals.
GoLocal consulted with patients, experts, and hospital administrators for their take to contextualize the rankings- click here to read the story.
- Lung Cancer Vaccine Being Tested at Rhode Island & Miriam Hospitals
- Using Pollution to Make Clean Energy
- NEW: Kilmartin Joins Multi-State Coalition in Action to Curb Climate Change Pollution
- NEW: Study Finds Clean Cars would Slash Oil Use and Pollution this Summer