Rhode Island Hospital
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
As a founding hospital in the Brown University Health system, RIH is committed to its mission: Delivering health with care.
- Income
- $2.3 billion
- Spending
- $2.1 billion
- Spent on programs
- 91%
- Reserves
- 0.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 96%
- Employees
- 9,833
- Volunteers
- 642
- Highest pay
- $3.7 million, fmr. trustee
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 59 out of 100. Higher than 45% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.5 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 44% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 8% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 16% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1591% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 53% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 18 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $1.7 billion spent. Patient Care: RIH is the State's largest hospital, and its only Level I trauma center and verified burn center. It provides a comprehensive range of diagnostic and therapeutic health care services to inpatients and outpatients. RIH has particular expertise in cancer, cardiology, diabetes, emergency medicine, neurosciences, orthopedics, and more. Hasbro Children's Hospital (HCH), RIH's pediatric division, is the region's premier provider of pediatric clinical care. HCH offers a broad spectrum of both routine care and specialty programs not available elsewhere and has the only pediatric emergency department, Level I trauma center, pediatric critical care teams, and 24-hour ambulance in the region. (Continued on Schedule O) RIH is a 719-bed, nonprofit general acute care teaching hospital with university affiliation, the largest hospital in the State of Rhode Island (the State) providing a comprehensive range of diagnostic and therapeutic services to patients. RIH has particular expertise in cardiology, including the State's only open heart surgery program; oncology; neurosciences; orthopedics; organ transplantation; pediatrics; psychiatry; and diabetes. RIH is the only Level I Trauma Center for southeastern New England, providing expert staff and equipment in emergency situations 24 hours a day. It is the Principal Teaching Hospital of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the largest and most comprehensive of the Brown affiliated hospitals. RIH's pediatric division, HCH, is the State's premier pediatric facility with the area's only pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric oncology and cardiac programs, pediatric imaging center, and separate emergency and operating suites designated for pediatric patients. RIH has earned worldwide recognition for its family-centered environment and expert staff. It is the founding partner of Brown Health, a comprehensive health system providing accessible, high-value services to the people of Rhode Island and southeastern New England. RIH employs/contracts approximately 7,500 employees and is nationally and internationally recognized as a research and academic medical center. In 2024, RIH discharged 33,520 inpatients with total inpatient days of 207,436, treated 138,542 patients in its emergency departments, performed 24,016 inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures, and cared for 331,384 patients in outpatient clinics. RIH is the designated Level I Trauma Center for the State of Rhode Island and southeastern New England, with a state-of-the-art emergency department (ED) and a dedicated pediatric ED. RIH's adult ED includes a radiology unit comprised of CT scanners as well as ultrasound and x-ray machines; an all-inclusive chest pain center; a critical care unit for the most seriously injured and ill; and private treatment rooms. RIH offers imaging with PET/CT technology for cancer staging, while cardiac MRI and 64-slice cardiac CT scanners provide powerful tools for evaluating heart disease and function. The Anne C. Pappas Center for Breast Imaging has earned the Breast Imaging Center of Excellence designation by the American College of Radiology. In the area of cancer services, RIH has pioneered image-guided tumor ablation, shrinking or eliminating tumors by destroying them with heat (microwave ablation and radiofrequency ablation) or by freezing them (cryoablation). In addition, radiation oncology services include a linear accelerator for image-guided radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery, as well as electronic brachytherapy for early-stage breast cancer patients, which reduces average treatment times from eight weeks to five days. In the area of surgical oncology, RIH is the only hospital in Rhode Island and one of only a few hospitals in New England to offer hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) for patients with advanced cancer of the abdomen. In the sphere of neurosurgery, RIH features one of the first gamma knife surgical centers in the United States, which offers intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery for the non-invasive treatment of brain lesions previously inaccessible or unsuccessfully treated by conventional therapies. Special services and programs provided by RIH include the Brown University Health Cancer Institute; the Brown Health Cardiovascular Institute, which provides cardiac catheterization, balloon angioplasty, and open heart surgery; The Comprehensive Stroke Center; The Norman Prince Spine Institute; critical care services; microvascular surgery; nuclear cardiology; radiology; laboratory; renal dialysis; computed tomography; orthopedics, including minimally invasive carpal tunnel surgery and cartilage transplants for knee defects; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); and dental care. HCH's specialties include cardiology, orthopedics, hematology & oncology, and medicine/psychiatry. HCH also has the area's only center for pediatric imaging, as well as the area's only pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric oncology and outpatient cardiac programs, pediatric emergency department, and pediatric surgical unit. It operates specialty clinics treating children ranging in age from newborn to 18 years. Services and programs include adolescent medicine, the Asthma and Allergy Center, the Children's Neurodevelopment Center, the Child Life Program, the Child Protection Program, dermatology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, the Injury Prevention Center, the Kidney Transplant Center, nephrology, neurosurgery, nutrition, the Partial Hospitalization Program, surgery, plastic surgery, primary care clinic, rehabilitation services, the Sickle Cell Clinic, and urology. HCH was the first hospital in Rhode Island to offer minimally invasive pediatric urologic surgeries. A wide range of adult, adolescent, and child behavioral health services and research programs are also provided, including: psychiatry emergency services for adults, adolescents, and children; psychiatry consultation liaison services; correctional
- $147.3 million spent. Medical Education: RIH provides the setting for and substantially supports medical education in various clinical training and nursing programs. RIH is designated as the Principal Teaching Hospital of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The total cost of direct medical education provided by RIH exceeded the reimbursement received from third-party payors by $125.8 million in fiscal year 2024. (Continued on Schedule O) Under an affiliation agreement with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (Brown), RIH participates jointly in various clinical training programs and research activities. In 2010, Brown named RIH its Principal Teaching Hospital. The goals of the partnership are to facilitate the expansion of joint educational and research programs in order to compete both clinically and academically. RIH sponsors graduate medical education programs accredited by or under the auspices of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), while also sponsoring hospital-approved residency and fellowship programs. RIH serves as the principal setting for these clinical training programs, which encompass many disciplines. RIH provides stipends to residents and physician fellows while in training. In 2024, students enrolled in Brown University's undergraduate medical education programs received training at RIH. RIH teaching faculty ensure that the experience for both undergraduate and graduate medical education trainees remains transformative - dramatically changing novice practitioners into physicians able to think, act, and keep their focus on the ultimate goal of providing the best and most appropriate care for patients no matter what the setting or circumstances. RIH is also a participating clinical training site for residents and fellows from other programs. Various departments and specialties at RIH serve as clinical sites for physician assistant schools. In addition, Behavioral Medicine at RIH, in collaboration with Brown, sponsors research and clinical psychology training programs for interns, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty trainees. With respect to nursing education, RIH has developed educational affiliations with various Schools of Nursing, pursuant to which their nursing students obtain clinical training and experience at RIH. RIH does not receive any compensation from the various schools for providing a clinical setting for the student nurse training. The Brown University Health School of Medical Imaging collaborates with Rhode Island College in the following programs: diagnostic medical sonography; nuclear medicine technology; radiography; and magnetic resonance imaging. Students complete educational experiences at RIH, as well as other outpatient sites. RIH also sponsors education programs in computed tomography and mammography. At RIH, clinical affiliations/student clinical training programs are provided through contracts with several colleges and universities in the professional areas of speech-language pathology and audiology, physical therapy, physical therapy assistants, occupational therapy, certified occupational therapy assistants, and child development. RIH has clinical training affiliations in respiratory therapy with New England Institute of Technology and CCRI. In addition, RIH is the host for training programs in histology, cytology, phlebotomy, and medical laboratory science (medical technology) sponsored jointly through the University of Rhode Island, Salve Regina University, and Rhode Island College. These programs allow students to obtain didactic coursework at partner universities and at RIH, and clinical education and experience on site at RIH, resulting in certification for careers in clinical laboratories. RIH also has clinical affiliations/student clinical training programs for pharmacy students provided through contracts with a number of colleges and universities. RIH's Pharmacy Department sponsors a postgraduate year one (PGY1) residency program in pharmacy practice. In addition, RIH's Pharmacy Department co-sponsors second-year postgraduate specialized residency programs in oncology and ambulatory care pharmacy. RIH's pharmacists participate in the education of pharmacy, nursing, and physician assistant students by providing didactic lectures at various universities. In addition, RIH has clinical social work student contracts with various educational facilities.
- $86.6 million spent. Research: RIH conducts extensive medical research and is in the forefront of biomedical health care delivery research and among the leaders nationally in the National Institutes of Health programs. RIH also sponsors a significant level of research activities. Federal support accounts for approximately 57% of all externally funded research at Brown Health. Researchers focus on basic research projects and clinical trials which investigate prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, obesity, cancer, diabetes, cardiac disease, neurological problems, orthopedic advancements, mental health concerns, and brain science. (Continued on Schedule O) RIH expended $12.3 million in support of research activities in fiscal year 2024. Major areas of research include: Cancer: RIH participates in clinical trials of new therapeutic agents in both adult and pediatric medicine. These trials are supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored groups such as Alliance and Childrens' Oncology Group (COG). RIH is a participating hospital in the Brown-sponsored Cancer Oncology Group (BrUCOG). Heart Disease: Research continues in areas of invasive therapy, such as angioplasty, artherectomy, coronary stenting, laser treatment of coronary artery disease, and the reasons for sudden heart failure. Neurological Illness: The Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorder Center combines high quality neurological, neuropsychologic, and psychiatric services, thus creating a comprehensive diagnostic and treatment option for patients with memory disorders. Infectious Diseases: RIH's research team has been at the heart of the global COVID-19 response, from being sought after for comment by national media, to being selected as a site for vaccine trials. RIH research is also focused on the treatment and prevention of opioid abuse.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since November 1993.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.