Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, met this morning with the AHCJ Regional Health Journalism Fellows in Atlanta.
CDC welcomes @AHCJ Glad to have you here & appreciate how hard you work to share important health messages with the public.
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrFriedenCDC) December 9, 2013
The fellows are visiting the CDC this week for a series of briefings on public health issues. Today’s topics include prescription drug overdoses, foodborne illnesses, flu and emergency and public health preparedness – including a tour of the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center. The fellows, who will be at the CDC through Wednesday, also get a tour of the pathology lab, learn about the public health implications of climate change and hear from experts on obesity, diabetes, heart disease, sodium reduction and more. They’ll also join the Atlanta chapter of AHCJ for happy hour on Tuesday. The AHCJ Regional Health Journalism Fellowship program is designed to provide established journalists with the tools needed to improve the depth and amount of coverage focused on localizing critical health issues. Each year fellows are picked from one region of the country. This year’s fellows are from Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington:
- Ken Alltucker, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix
- Cynthia Craft, The Sacramento Bee
- Patricia Duggan, KING-Seattle
- Kristian Foden-Vencil, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland
- Markian Hawryluk, Bend (Ore.) Bulletin
- Jason Hidalgo, Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal
- Stephanie Innes, Arizona Daily Star, Tucson
- Jude Joffe-Block, KJZZ-Fronteras Desk, Tempe, Ariz.
- Stephanie O’Neill, KPCC-Los Angeles
- Maria Ortiz-Briones, Vida en el Valle, Fresno, Calif.
- Molly Rosbach, Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic
- Saerom Yoo, Statesman Journal, Salem, Ore.
The yearlong fellowship gives them access to a customized seminar on state health policy, an intense health reporting boot camp featuring some of the top health journalists in the country, the CDC briefings, an exclusive news webcast, attendance at AHCJ training events, experienced mentors and more.
UPDATE:
Frieden broke some news during his briefing with the fellows:
Mosquito-borne Chikungunya illness confirmed in St. Martin, first cases in the Western hemisphere, @DrFriedenCDC tells #AHCJ group. #CDC
— Ken Alltucker (@kalltucker) December 9, 2013
Here is additional information from the CDC about Chikungunya fever:
