The Association of Health Care Journalists has awarded the 2024 Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance to five mid-career journalists who will pursue yearlong reporting projects examining health care systems and health equity.
The program, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, is in its 14th year. It’s designed to provide support and education for promising health care journalists working in resource-strapped newsrooms, providing mentorship they wouldn’t otherwise be able to obtain.
Reporting projects must be related to the performance of U.S. health care systems – either local, regional, or national, with the goal of fostering and nurturing a more diverse field of skilled health care journalists,informing public debate and problem solving in an area that touches all Americans.
2024 fellows and their projects:
- Sheila Eldred of The Sahan Journal: A series of stories centered on Minnesota’s biggest health disparities, focusing on how the opioid epidemic has impacted individual immigrant communities and communities of color differently and disproportionately.
- Hannah Furfaro of The Seattle Times: A probe of the dangerous gaps in care for youth addicted to opioids that has put their care decades behind that of adults in Washington state.
- Jayne Hopson of The Baltimore Times: Highlighting the connection between health literacy and health outcomes in communities of color in Maryland – and the search for solutions.
- Jessica Mador of WABE Atlanta: Connecting the dots underlying Georgia’s maternal mortality crisis and efforts underway to address it.
- Ciara McCarthy of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Investigating the significant decline in childhood vaccination rates in Texas and how communities can restore trust in science.
The fellowship covers the cost of attending seminars and AHCJ events, as well as a $4,000 project allowance to defray the cost of field reporting, health data analysis and other project-related research. Each project includes a $2,500 award upon completion. Recipients will continue their jobs during the fellowship year while receiving customized training, mentoring and financial support for their projects.
Learn more about the Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance. Learn more about AHCJ’s other health journalism fellowships.
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 U.S. 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 sister organization, the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism provide training, resources and support for journalists, including health journalism fellowships, webinars, networking and conferences.
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.
