About AHCJ: General News

2019 AHCJ Reporting Fellows on Health Care Performance named Date: 12/13/18

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Association of Health Care Journalists has awarded AHCJ Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance to four journalists who intend to pursue significant projects in 2019. The program, in its ninth year, is meant to help journalists understand and report on the performance of local health care markets and the U.S. health system as a whole.

The fellowship program, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, is intended to give experienced print, broadcast and online reporters an opportunity to concentrate on the performance of health care systems – or significant parts of those systems – locally, regionally or nationally. The fellows are able to examine policies, practices and outcomes, as well as the roles of various stakeholders.

The 2019 fellows will be:

  • Erin Alberty, reporter, The Salt Lake Tribune (@erinalberty)
    Alberty will report on Utah’s efforts to point patients to cheaper prescription drugs from other countries and whether they will impact the market.

  • Max Blau, independent journalist writing for The (Macon, Ga.) Telegraph (@MaxBlau)
    Blau will examine privatized correctional health care in Georgia, how it evolved and how it compares to other states.

  • Blake Farmer, reporter, Nashville Public Radio (@flakebarmer)
    Farmer will focus on the hurdles that can sometimes obstruct quality end-of-life care.

  • Naseem Miller, reporter, Orlando Sentinel (@NaseemMiller)
    Miller will study what’s driving high rates of infant mortality and preterm birth in pockets of Central Florida.

The fellows will continue in their current jobs during the coming year, but also receive customized training, mentoring and financial support for field reporting and conference and workshop attendance. With the support of the program, and their own news outlets, they are expected to complete significant and unique reporting projects by the end of 2019.

The Association of Health Care Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. With about 1,500 members across the United States and around the globe, its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing. The association and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism provide training, resources and a professional home for journalists. Offices are based at the Missouri School of Journalism.

The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy. The Fund is based in New York City and has supported this fellowship program since it began.