- http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/john-george/2012/11/a-journalists-odyssey-special-report.html
- http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/john-george/2012/11/the-regions-busiest-maternity-wards.html
- http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/john-george/2012/11/how-pa-funds-hospital-maternity-care.html
- http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/john-george/2012/11/access-to-prenatal-care-focus-on.html
Provide names of other journalists involved.
John George
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Nov. 16, 23 and 30
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Stories examed the impact of maternity ward closings in Philadelphia. Significant findings included disclosing before unknown collaboration among competing hospitals still in baby-delivery business, varying strategies hospital and government entities are using to improve birth outcomes, and problems with the delivery of prenatal care in the city.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The series required requests for financial data from state Department of Public Welfare, review of the database used by Maternity Care Coalition in studying care access issues and the extensive use of March of Dime Peristats Internet data source on birth outcome indicators. The data helped illustrate key issues in the series, provided a way to compare Philadelphia to other markets and proved or disproved some of the anecdotal information provided by sources.
Explain types of human sources used.
This series involved interviews with more than 60 hospitals officials, physicians, government officials, insurance executives, academic experts, advocacy group representatives as well as patients and new moms. In additional to speaking with people in the paper’s local coverage area, I also traveled to Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; and New Orleans to provide comparisons with what is happening in other markets.
Results:
The series ran in mid and late November. While the feedback has been tremendous, it’s too soon to report any impact.
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 or clarifications
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
The March of Dimes has a ton of useful (and comparative) birth outcomes data and their representatives are eager to help journalists report on the topic.