Provide names of other journalists involved.
My minder, driver, and translator, Patrick Trenard, with whom I will share part of any award.
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
8/21/2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Working seven days a week, 12 hours a day, Dr. Megan Coffee directs a team of volunteer doctors and Haitian and American nurses who care for a vulnerable population in a country afflicted with the highest TB infection rate in the Western hemisphere. In two portable buildings and a tent surrounded by the ruins of Port-au-Prince, Coffee treats patients diagnosed with both HIV and TB. She — and a constantly evolving staff of volunteer doctors and physicians — save lives for pennies a day. Coffee’s infectious disease clinic occupies two small temporary buildings and a tent on a corner in the middle of a still-collapsing University Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Here, 45 patients who would normally require medical regimens running many thousands of dollars in the United States are saved with a simple regimen of inexpensive, antibiotics administered over a six to eight month period in combination with food supplements and when necessary, HIV medications. Coffee’s work load is overwhelming. Just muscling an oxygen tank from storage to the clinic is a physical challenge. I as struck by this model of hope within the difficult circumstances in Haiti and see it as emblematic of medicine practiced on the highest and most effective way.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Research consisted of long, on-site visits to the clinic, then backtracking to the sites of infection. I interviewed Dr. coffee at various moments as she went about her work. My photography is now featured on TiKay’s website. It provided recognition, generated substantial financial contributions, and inspired doctors, nurses, and technicians to volunteer their services. I shot the essay with a protective mask. All patients or their relatives granted permission to be photographed. I published this essay at socialdocumentary after all of the editors that I contacted at the the New York Times magazine replied to my queries with “out of the office” messages
Explain types of human sources used.
Physicians. Nurses. Patients. Police. Newspaper reports. NGO health reports.
Results:
Large contributions to Ti Kay, Inc., Dr. Coffee’s non-profit. Extensive volunteering by doctors and nurses who contributed both time and supplies after seeing the story. Used at U.C. San Francisco to teach emergency services to health care professionals. One orphaned patient in particular — ‘little chicken” — received specific financial contributions which were used to purchase portable oxygen generating equipment.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections. I dialogued with Dr. Coffee to make certain that the technical details were accurate.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Go slow. Respect people. Get out of the way. Be positive. Remember that you have the luxury of leaving, but the people you are photographing are stuck and in need.