Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island Company

The overall health of the people of Rhode Island is overseen by the Rhode Island Department of Health, which is overseen by a governor-appointed director. The department's divisions include vital statistics (birth and death records), community health (disease prevention, health promotion, and rural health initiatives), epidemiology, emergency preparedness, environmental health (beach monitoring, drinking water quality, and food protection), and laboratories (biological, environmental, and forensics). It also regulates and licenses hospitals, nurses, nursing homes, and other health professions and facilities. The Department of Health, which has an annual budget of $120 million, was formed in 1878.