Our Lady of Fatima Hospital

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island. One of the first cities in the United States, Providence is located in Providence County and is estimated to be the second or third largest city in New England. Despite the city proper only having an estimated population of 171,557 as of 2008, it anchors the 36th largest metropolitan population in the country, with an estimated MSA population of 1,600,856, exceeding that of Rhode Island by about 60 percent due to its reaching into southern Massachusetts. Situated at the mouth of the Providence River, at the head of Narragansett Bay, the small footprint of the city is crisscrossed by seemingly erratic streets and contains a rapidly changing demographic. Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. After being one of the first cities in the country to industrialize, Providence became noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. Today, Providence city proper alone is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning, which has shifted the economy of the city into service industries, though it still retains significant manufacturing work.