Kaicie Boeglin
Opinions Editor
The state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) said in a statement that Dr. Andrew C. Stone is now taking on additional responsibilities at the Eleanor Slater Hospital as well as the Slater Zambrano unit. Doctor Stone had previously pleaded guilty to four felonies back in 2006 which now has some Rhode Islanders worried. In part of a post-covid staff change, given the step down of two of the hospital’s physicians, Doctor Stone is now named Chief of Medical Services for the Eleanor Slater Hospital.
In 2006 Stone was arrested in Seekonk, MA for sexual misconduct. He had exposed himself to young boys in a Newman YMCA locker room, to which he pleaded guilty on four felony accounts. The guilty plea allotted a lesser sentence of four months at the Bristol County House of Corrections in Massachusetts and the revocation of his medical license in Rhode Island.
Stone’s appointment as chief of medical services was first reported by NRI Now. The 49-year-old Stone was appointed chief at Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston and its Zambrano unit in Burrillville. This decision was based on the work Stone facilitated over the years for himself and the medical practices he was involved in. Rhode Island medical disciplinary records show Stone completed a treatment program in Texas, participating in almost seven years of treatment. The records also monitor the hundreds of hours spent in group therapy, individual psychotherapy and psychiatric treatment. In the beginning half of 2015, Dr. Stone was deemed to be in remission by medical experts, as well as fit to return to practicing medicine provided the care was only given to adults. His work with the Slater hospital started in 2018.
The BHDDH supports the rehabilitation and recovery of all Rhode Islanders including Stone. The BHDDH recognizes that Dr. Stone has a troublesome past but acknowledges that change is possible when individuals take action. Stone has taken the necessary steps to redeem his medical license and is actively working to gain back the respect of the community. The BHDDH spoke out in a statement saying “Dr. Stone is highly regarded for his work at Eleanor Slater Hospital and other hospitals,’’ adding that Stone is “triple board certified — in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and addiction medicine.”
The Eleanor Slater Hospital is a state run psychiatric hospital sanctified by the passage of reliable mental health and rehabilitative care. As a place that provides a pathway to second chances, and taking into account the road to redemption, Stone’s appointment as chief is no shock. The staff of the hospital is in communal agreement with the BHDDH that current press releases highlight Dr. Stone’s past in a derogatory way which negates from the justice and good he provides.
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