Moms Over Margins co-founder wins Community Hero Award

By AI, Created 4:54 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Cassie Voll, co-founder of Moms Over Margins in Newport County, Rhode Island, will receive the 2026 Community Hero Award from Primary Care for All Americans at a May 20 summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The honor follows a community campaign that helped keep Newport Hospital’s only labor and delivery unit open as Brown University Health expands across Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Why it matters: - Voll’s award highlights a local campaign that preserved the only labor and delivery unit on Aquidneck Island. - The fight also points to broader access concerns as Brown University Health operates hospitals in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. - The Newport case shows how community organizing can pressure large health systems to keep essential services open.

What happened: - Primary Care for All Americans named Cassie Voll the 2026 Community Hero Award recipient. - The award will be presented May 20, 2026, at the inaugural Health Care Renaissance Summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts. - Moms Over Margins said Voll was recognized for leading the campaign to save the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital. - Brown University Health signaled in July 2025 that it was considering closing the facility. - Brown University Health announced in April 2026 that the birthing center will remain open.

The details: - Voll worked with the Coalition for Newport Hospital Birthing Center. - The campaign 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 a year. - The unit was the 40th hospital in the United States to be designated “Baby-Friendly” by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. - Brown University Health said nearly $5 million in additional annual revenue is needed to sustain the facility. - Brown University Health owns St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and Morton Hospital in Taunton, Massachusetts. - Those two Massachusetts hospitals have posted significant losses. - Moms Over Margins is based in Newport County, Rhode Island, and focuses on preserving care at Newport Hospital’s birthing center. - PC4AA is a national grassroots group focused on expanding access to primary care through advocacy, community organizing, and policy reform. - More information on Moms Over Margins is available by email. - Conference details are available online.

Between the lines: - The award gives the Newport campaign outside validation at a moment when the birthing center’s long-term finances remain unresolved. - The mention of Brown University Health’s Massachusetts hospitals suggests the same financial stress that affected Newport could become a regional issue. - The campaign’s success does not end the debate, because the facility still needs a sustainable funding plan.

What’s next: - Voll will be honored at the May 20 summit in Cambridge. - Community advocates will likely keep pushing to secure the birthing center’s future funding. - Brown University Health still faces the challenge of covering the facility’s operating needs without closing it.

The bottom line: - The Newport birthing center is still open, but the fight has shifted from closure to long-term survival.