Pros
Excellent health benefits (I have actually found Tufts health to be superior to BCBSRI, covers more and fewer copays, providing you stay in the network).
I think RIH and Lifespan suffer from a lack of morale. In part this is because we practice in the shadow of the Boston bubble and feel some inferiority complex to the AMCs there (we shouldn't, I think we give just as good medical care) and a dubious relationship with the medical school. Ideally we should be like Yale New Haven Hospital and merge with Brown. I.e., have the sign on the hospital read "Brown University - Rhode Island Hospital." with the lifespan logo on one end and the brown logo on the other. Brown wants this but for some reason we want to become a part of Partners -- go figure.
As a result, most of our patients do not know we are THE major level 1 teaching hospital for an ivy league medical school. Instead we are looked at as a community hospital. Clearly an opportunity squandered. I think despite the low morale, inferiority complex, etc., the clinical care we deliver is safe and effective. The collegiality among physicians and nurses is really great, and we have a relatively "flat" culture here -- not too many stuffy types. Our attention to care is evidenced by our Leapfrog scores, we are and have for some time been grade A (compare this to Hopkins or Stanford, both grade B, or any of the academic medical centers in NYC - grade C... I' can wait while you fact check this...). Near misses or never events are taken very seriously. I'm proud of being a part of care team at the Miriam and RIH, and think the care at both hospitals are excellent -- both are Leapfrog Grade A, and both places I think nurse-physician relationships are good and collegial.
Moreover, Providence and Rhode Island is one of the last few cities on the East Coast between Boston and D.C. that isn't either scary dangerous (e.g., Philly, Baltimore, D.C.) or scary expensive (Boston, NYC, DC). Many people live nearby and have low commute times, relatively low cost of living, can buy a house and not be a millionaire, and get to the beach/nature in a relatively short amount of time. I challenge you to find a similar place like that in the northeast or mid atlantic.
*mic drop*
Cons
Parking is terrible. We desperately need a parking garage attached to RIH. That being said, we don't pay for parking so I guess you get what you pay for.
