See, follow AHCJ’s newest members
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest members. All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves.
- Orly Avitzur, medical editor, Consumer Reports, Tarrytown, N.Y. (@OrlyA)
- Massimo Cecaro, national councillor, Italian Association of Medical Press, Macerato, Italy
- Sylvia Davis, senior editor, WebMD, Atlanta
- Ira Dinerman, independent journalist, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Marissa Donovan, student, Syracuse, Rensselaer, N.Y. (@MarissaDonovan1)
- Helen Driediger, independent journalist, Bancroft, Ontario, Canada
- Micky Duxbury, independent journalist, Berkeley, Calif. (@mickydux)
- Lisa Eramo, independent journalist, Cranston, R.I. (@Lisa_Eramo)
- Sari Harrar, independent journalist, Quakertown, Pa.
- Laura Kebede, student, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. (@kebedefaith)
- Martin Kilgus, editor, SWR Public Radio, Stuttgart, Germany
- Beth Kitchin, assistant professor, University of Birmingham, Nutrition Sciences, Birmingham, Ala.
- Ricki Lewis, independent journalist, Scotia, N.Y. (@rickilewis)
- Teresa Mahoney, student, Columbia University, New York (@TheresaMahoney)
- Matt McMillen, independent journalist, Portland, Ore.
- Becky Oskin, independent journalist, Davis, Calif.
- Bonnie Schultz, independent journalist, Princeton, N.J.
- Lesley Simon, independent journalist, Westfield, N.J.
- Kavin Sundaram, student, University of Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
Where health and journalism education meet
Writing for U.S. News and World Report, Menachem Wecker examines the proliferation of health-focused programs at journalism schools across the country, many of which are affiliated with medical schools and/or medical institutions, and how they may or may not benefit both journalists and health professionals.
This recent influx of programs has raised questions from journalists and doctors about the degree to which the collaborations benefit medical and journalism students. Some say that M.D.’s can help journalists better understand the health beat, while others prescribe a “healthy ignorance,” rather than medical school credentials, to reporters. Others say that aspiring physicians can improve their bedside interactions with and empathy for patients by studying journalism.
Wecker writes that while, according to AHCJ treasurer and Reuters Health executive editor Ivan Oransky, M.D., a medical degree appears to have become almost a requirement for broadcast health journalists, there are big-picture views and tools of the trade that those with an exclusively medical education may struggle with. Here, Wecker quotes former AHCJ board member Andrew Holtz, M.P.H.:
“I often compare asking a doctor about health policy to asking an auto mechanic about transportation policy. Maybe they have something useful to say, but it is generally not from what they learned in their training program,” he says.
Peter Fiske, author of the recent article “Unleash Your Inner Dummy” on the website of the journal Nature, says a reporter with less health expertise may find it easier to connect with readers despite the increasing complexity of the medical field.
And, given the difficulty of explaining health to a lay audience, the exchange goes both ways, Wecker writes. Several of his sources, journalists and medical professionals alike, suggested that it might not hurt physicians to improve their communication skills and media savvy.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly attributed Fiske’s comments to Holtz. We apologize for the error.
Welcome AHCJ’s newest members
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest members. All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves.
- Bobby DeMuro, student, University of Memphis, Davidson, N.C. (@BobbyDeMuro)
- Renee Dudley, reporter, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C. (@Renee_Dudley)
- Tamara Jeffries, assistant professor, Bennett College, Greensboro, N.C. (@tamjeffries)
- Larry Koz, freelance journalist, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- Lomi Kriel, freelance reporter, Houston (@lomikriel)
- Thomas Maeder, senior editor, Medical Device Summit, Narberth, Pa.
- Kellie Schmitt, health reporter, The Californian, Bakersfield, Calif. (@schmitt_k)
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
More health journalists join AHCJ’s ranks
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest members! All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves.
- Blair Thomas, public policy reporter, The Lund Report, Beaverton, Ore.
- Mike King, independent writer/editor, Atlanta
- Aretha Yarak, reporter, Veja.com, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Rosa Ramirez, independent journalist, Berkeley, Calif. (@rosamramirez)
- Allyn Gaestel, independent journalist, Pasadena, Calif. (@samayxalaat)
- Ju-Don Marshall Roberts, vice president & editor in chief, Everyday Health, New York (@jmarroberts)
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
AHCJ members tackle job changes, book publishing and earn awards
Health journalists have been busy, with a number of job changes, awards and new books out. Here’s the latest news about AHCJ members:
Lominda Afedraru won an award in science reporting in the print category from the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology.
Bianca Alexander was nominated for a Chicago/Midwest Emmy for “Outstanding On-Camera Performance” for the show “Soul of Green,” about entrepreneurs of color in the green and holistic health movement in Chicago.
Mark Andersen has been named an assistant city editor at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. Anderson is a member of the inaugural class of AHCJ Regional Health Journalism Program Fellows and expects to continue to be involved in the paper’s coverage of health care.
Jeff Baillon, an investigative reporter for KMSP-Minneapolis/St. Paul received an Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Award in September for Investigative Reporting. The series of reports, “Dead Wrong?” (Part 1 | Part 2) revealed serious mistakes made by a Twin Cities medical examiner whose findings lacked sound science but nevertheless were the primary evidence used in several murder convictions.
Amrit Banstola has been chosen as a “Youth Leader Speak Column Writer” from Nepal for Climate Himalaya, an India-based organization that works for climate change.
Bob Barrett, producer of “The Health Show” for WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, will host a second nationally syndicated public radio program. “The Best of Our Knowledge,” about education, is heard on almost 150 radio stations in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, as well as Armed Forces Radio around the world.
Blythe Bernhard and Jeremy Kohler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch were named “top reporters” in the Riverfront Times’ Best of St. Louis awards and their work was tapped for a Lee Enterprises’ President’s Award, recognizing outstanding journalism from the company’s 48 newspapers. The two were honored for their investigative series, “Who Protects the Patients?” which exposed Missouri’s lax and secretive system of doctor discipline. The reporting team previously won the APME Missouri sweepstakes award and Bernhard was recently honored with a Missouri Public Health Association media award for significant contributions to health education in the state.
Rachel Boehm is now a reporter for the Bureau of National Affairs’ Daily Tax Report covering the Internal Revenue Service.
At a National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder conference in November, Kevin Dawkins presented preliminary date from a recently completed randomized controlled trial of a documentary series on borderline personality disorder. The series targeted families who have a member diagnosed with BPD and presented the experiences of four individuals and their families with commentary provided by researchers and clinicians.
The latest book from Nicholas DiNubile, M.D., “FrameWork for the Shoulder“ has been released. It is the third installment in the FrameWork “Active for Life” series geared toward keeping individuals active for life, especially those with musculoskeletal ailments.
M.J. Ellington will do freelance health journalism in addition to her new position as health policy analyst for Alabama Arise, a statewide advocacy organization for the poor. Previously, Ellington covered state government and politics as capital bureau chief for The Decatur Daily and the Florence Times Daily newspapers.
Bob Finn is the assistant managing editor at Medscape Medical News where, among other things, he works with freelancers, assigning and editing stories based on medical journal articles. Finn was with the International Medical News Group for 10 years, first as San Francisco bureau chief and then as social media and web content editor. He’ll continue working from home, which he’s done for the past 19 years.
Joe Goldeen, health care reporter at The (Stockton, Calif.) Record, received the President’s Award from Healings in Motion. Mary Nicholson, of Healings in Motion, said, “Goldeen has been a beacon for those enduring challenges from an illness. Through his stories and blog, Joe shares credible resources and a calendar of events related to health and health care in San Joaquin County.”
Independent journalist Samantha Gluck is a contributing author for HealthyPlace.com, a mental health resource for patients and mental health professionals.
“Top Screwups Doctors Make And how to Avoid Them,” by Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon, was published by Crown Archtype.
Shuka Kalantari is a member of the 2011 New America Media Fellowship Program on Health, Health Care and Environmental Health. She will produce a radio story about PTSD among Middle Eastern refugees in California.
Jonathan Michels recently wrapped up a short documentary about healthy food access in Candor, N.C. The film was made with a grant from Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities and FirstHealth of the Carolinas.
Gary Schwitzer, publisher of HealthNewsReview.org, presented his project’s findings to an International Biomedical Journalism Symposium at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona in September. He also helped plan a National Cancer Institute workshop for Latin American journalists in Guadalajara and spoke in four sessions at the November event. Stateside, he was a speaker at a National Breast Cancer Coalition media workshop in New York City in September.
Andrew Seaman is a medical journalist with Reuters Health, where his main focus is on the division’s Web page, and he will be reporting. Seaman finished the Kaiser Family Foundation’s media internship in August at Reuters’s Washington Bureau, where he covered the Affordable Care Act and general health policy.
Elizabeth Stawicki, J.D., health care reform correspondent for Minnesota Public Radio, is working on an initiative between NPR/Minnesota Public Radio/Kaiser Health News.
Stephanie Stephens has launched www.MindYourBody.tv for female baby boomers. Stephens is host, writer and executive producer, using expert resources from Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. Topics are presented with a video/audio podcast and blog, and focus on mind, body, nutrition, healthy travel, beauty, caregiving and other boomer-centric topics.
Judy Stone, M.D., is a guest blogger for Scientific American. The column started with “Molecules to Medicine: Clinical Trials for Beginners” in October.
Liz Szabo, of USA Today, won the Excellence in Media Award from the Campaign for Public Health Foundation.
Jessica Wapner will be a fellow at the Medical Evidence Boot Camp offered by Knight Science Journalism in December.
Share your news
If you have news to share about a new job, fellowship, award or other accomplishment, please send us a note about it to info@healthjournalism.org to be featured in a future Covering Health post and in HealthBeat, AHCJ’s printed newsletter.
Welcome to AHCJ’s newest members
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest members! All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves.
- Diane Atwood, independent journalist, Gorham, Maine (@Diane_Atwood)
- Christina Boufis Peterson, independent journalist, Oakland, Calif.
- Matthew Brady, senior staff writer, Angie’s List, Indianapolis
- Jody Charnow, editor, Renal & Urology News, New York
- Bobbi Conner, producer/writer/host, Parents Journal, Mount Pleasant, S.C.
- Myiesha Demery, student, Suffolk University, Dorchester, Mass. (@sicklecellsista)
- Margaret Dick Tocknell, online reporter/editor, Healthleaders Media, Jacksonville, Fla.
- Tom Dickey, digital content editor, Remedy Health Media, New York
- Marissa Donovan, student, Syracuse, Rensselaer, N.Y.
- Matt Drange, reporting fellow, Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Rosemead, Calif. (@mattdrange)
- Susie Fagan, writer, editor, Kansas Health Institute, Topeka, Kan. (@KHIsusie)
- Glenda Fauntleroy, independent journalist, Carmel, Ind.
- Bianca Fortis, reporter, The Chronicle, Centralia, Wash.
- David Freeman, managing editor, CBSNews.com Health Channel, New York
- Anita Fritz Phillips, independent journalist, Orange, Mass.
- Karen Herzog, reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee (@HerzogJS)
- Alison Knopf, independent journalist, Carmel, N.Y.
- Kim Krisberg, independent journalist, Austin, Texas
- Danny Kucharsky, independent journalist, Montreal
- Bev Lucas, executive editor, Remedy Health Media, New York
- Stephanie Myers, independent journalist, San Diego
- Louise Radnofsky, reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Washington, D.C. (@louiseradnofsky)
- Gerald Secor Couzens, managing editor, Remedy Health Media, New York
- Jane Stevens, independent journalist, Winters, Calif.
- Diane Umansky, Remedy Health Media, New York
- Barbara Van Tine, editor, Remedy Health Media, New York
- Mark Wert, data & investigations editor, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati (@mwert)
- Winnie Yu, independent journalist, Voorheesville, N.Y. (@Writerwinnie)
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
Ohio’s hospital transparency law under fire
Filed under: Aging, Conflicts of interest, Europe, Government, Health care reform, Health data, Health journalism, Health policy, Hospitals, Hot Health Headline, Member news, Public records, Studies, Tools
Thanks are due to blogger and one-time hospital executive Paul Levy for drawing our attention to the Ohio hospital industry’s recent push to overturn much of the state’s recently passed transparency legislation.
The law required hospitals to post performance data, such as infection rates and patient satisfaction, on the Ohio Hospital Compare site.
According to Brandon Glenn’s report in the MedCity News, the hospital industry opposes the site, online since Jan. 1, 2010, because it serves the same purpose as the federal Hospital Compare site.
The OHA supports the new legislation… because it wants to remove “duplicative” reporting requirements on the state’s hospitals. Ohio hospitals already report the same data to a federal Hospital Compare website maintained for the public by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said OHA spokeswoman Tiffany Himmelreich.
The new legislation “doesn’t reduce reporting. It just eliminates reporting the same information to two different places,” she said. “We don’t want the public to feel that this is taking a step backwards in terms of data availability.”
For their part, consumer advocates say website maintenance is not an onerous burden, and that the hospital association’s push is part of a larger, statewide antitransparency trend.
As an interesting side note, Glenn found the Ohio Hospital Compare site to be rendered inoperable by apparent bugs on an initial visit but discovered that, after his inquiries to the state health department, the site was put into working order.
Public hospitals, not nonprofits, shoulder burden of charity care
Filed under: Health data, Health journalism, Hospitals, Hot Health Headline, Member news, Public records
Writing in the Contra Costa Times, Sandy Kleffman reports that while nonprofit hospitals in the East Bay are given millions in tax breaks, “The responsibility of caring for the indigent falls largely on the region’s public hospitals.”
Kleffman’s findings are based on her analysis of publicly available California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development reports, documents which she learned to access and process at a September webinar led by AHCJ board president and ProPublica senior reporter Charles Ornstein.
Her analysis revealed a substantial imbalance in the numbers, especially between public hospitals and nonprofits. For example, Contra Costa’s county hospital provided more than three quarters of the total amount of charity care given in the country in 2010, while the six nonprofits together accounted for just under 23 percent.
For their part, representatives of nonprofit hospitals protested that the numbers do not take into account the other community benefits they provide, nor are they adjusted to compensate for the differences in demographics across each institution’s patient pool.
For more on what went into Kleffman’s report, see her sidebar on “How we made comparisons.”
Welcome to AHCJ’s newest members
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest members! All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves.
- Stepfanie Aguilar, student, Pacific Ties, UCLA, Los Angeles
- Betsy Cahill, writer, Mayoclinic.com, Rochester, Minn.
- Rogelio Cruz, medical reporter/researcher, The Doctor Oz Show, Zoco Productions, New York
- Frank Diamond, managing editor, Managed Care Magazine, Yardley, Pa.
- Jennifer Fitzgerald, writer, Mayoclinic.com, Rochester, Minn.
- Carol Gunderson, writer, Mayoclinic.com, Rochester, Minn.
- Sarah Hensel, managing editor, Mayoclinic.com, Arvada, Colo.
- Diane Herbst, independent journalist, Montclair, N.J.
- Joey Keillor, writer, Mayoclinic.com, Rochester, Minn.
- Leigh McKinney, managing editor, Mayoclinic.com, Overland Park, Kan.
- Sara Viola, medical reporter/researcher, The Doctor Oz Show, Zoco Productions, New York
- Rachel Whitmire, student, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
- Courtney Yuhas, medical reporter/researcher, The Doctor Oz Show, Zoco Productions, New York
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
Welcome to AHCJ’s newest members
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest members and, if you haven’t already, consider following them on Twitter. All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves.
- Nadia Al-Samarrie, editor in chief, Diabetes Health Magazine, Novato, Calif.
- Evan Belanger, reporter, Birmingham Business Journal, Birmingham, Ala. (@evanbelanger)
- Scott Dance, reporter, Baltimore Business Journal, Baltimore (@ssdance)
- Jason deBruyn, reporter, Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh/Durham, N.C.
- Jerry DeMink, executive video producer, WebMD, Atlanta
- Mercy Edionwe, freelance producer, Tucson, Ariz.
- Becky Ellis, senior editor, WebMD, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Laura Englehart, reporter, Dayton Business Journal, Dayton, Ohio (@englehlp)
- Gisele Grayson, producer, National Public Radio, Washington, D.C. (@ggrayson)
- Katharine Grayson, reporter, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
- Ashley Gurbal Kritzer, reporter, Jacksonville Business Journal, Jacksonville, Fla.
- Kevin Lomanngino, independent journalist, South Portland, Maine (@klomangino)
- Lisa Peters, student, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Ed Sealover, reporter, Denver Business Journal, Denver
- Chris Silva, reporter, Nashville Business Journal, Nashville, Tenn.
- Chad Terhune, independent journalist, Eastpoint, Fla.
- Dave Twiddy, reporter, Kansas City Business Journal, Kansas City, Mo. (@dtwiddy71)
- Tom Wilemon, reporter, The Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn. (@TomWilemon)
- Anna Yukhananov, health & drug policy reporter, Reuters, Washington, D.C. (@AnnaHealth)
- Sandra Zaragoza, reporter, Austin Business Journal, Austin, Texas (@ZaragozaAustin)
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
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- Data gives depth to investigation of patient safety
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- Tips for print, online journalists to embrace broadcast opportunities
- Numbers reveal how often, or how rarely, states check doctors’ disciplinary records
- How I did it: Falsified charts in nursing homes linked to patient care
- Access Denied: Looking at a lack of health care availability
- Transparency & medical errors: Public reporting of patient harm is a potent force
