Hospitals in jeopardy: Reporting on local, systemic hospital failures
By Tracey Drury, New York Health Journalism Fellow
Conditions must be dire for federal regulators to put a hospital into immediate jeopardy, a status that denotes when a provider’s noncompliance on required practices is likely to cause serious injury or death.
Two reporters who have helped shed light on hospital failures in their communities offered insight and tips on covering this topic at Health Journalism 2025.
Andrew Jones, an investigative reporter with the Asheville Watchdog, said he launched his career while covering the $1.5 billion sale of Mission Hospital by HCA, the nation’s largest hospital system.
“That deal had been in the works for years and really sounded kosher at the time,” he said. “We know now it was rancid, if not rotten.”
Jones broke the story when Mission Hospital was cited for immediate jeopardy by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Inspections citations reported several patient deaths and endangerment cases in the previous two years.
“The day they found out, nobody came to the ER. I think I was shaken at that point. I couldn’t believe our reporting had that type of impact,” he said. “The AG cited our reporting 18 times.”
Melissa Montalvo, accountability reporter at The Fresno Bee, has covered hospital closures, kickback schemes and other health care scandals in California’s Central Valley.
“These are all big economic engines and job providers in our communities as well,” she said. “Fresno’s [hospital] is the largest private employer in the region, so there are huge economic implications in so many ways.”
The panelists also highlighted a series of sources to uncover hospital financial and legal data, including AHCJ’s hospitalinspections.org database.
Among the citations the duo found in their reporting: a patient permanently blinded due to hospital error; a feeding tube erroneously placed in the lungs instead of the stomach; a hospital releasing more than 100 bodies from the morgue without a legally required review; and a patient who was sued for trespassing after refusing to leave.
In addition to inspection reports, bankruptcy filings, court hearings and direct interviews with former employees identified by using internet tools like the Wayback Machine can help tell a hospital failure story. Current staff may have access to different public records and be willing to share licensing and employment data.
Montalvo pointed to trigger events like bankruptcy filings, deals falling through, layoff notices, FOIA requests as well as watching social media and county or city public meetings, where officials in the know might discuss what’s happening.
Jones highlighted class action lawsuits and whistleblower lawsuits. He cited an argument by the hospital buyer who said the company agreed to have the hospital and services open but never agreed to a particular level of care.
“They said it boldfaced in that lawsuit and it defined the conversation going forward,” he said.
Tracey Drury is senior reporter at Buffalo Business First.
