Now in its 19th year, the Association of Health Care Journalists’ annual Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism is a professional and public affirmation of the importance of health care as a beat. To select the most powerful, poignant and effective stories from all the submissions requires significant time, dedication and care. For that, we thank the dozens of volunteer judges who make it all possible.
Category Archives: AHCJ news
AHCJ thanks our volunteer contest
With new hire, AHCJ puts firearm violence and trauma
front and center in public health reporting

Kaitlin Washburn
AHCJ recently welcomed Kaitlin Washburn, a Chicago-based independent health reporter, as the organization’s first firearm violence and trauma HealthBeat leader (formerly known as core topic leader).
Funding for the new role comes from the Joyce Foundation, which also provided support for AHCJ’s fall summit in 2022 on firearm violence as a public health issue.
Association of Health Care Journalists ends relationship with University of Missouri School of Journalism
The Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) and its sister organization, the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, today announced that it will end its relationship with the University of Missouri School of Journalism (MU) as of June 1.
The decision comes after a careful review of AHCJ’s operations, budget and the changes in how staff work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AHCJ invests in long-term sustainability
by hiring its first development officer

Melody Morgan
Melody Morgan, an adaptive, purpose-driven leader with more than 13 years of experience in development, joins AHCJ as its first development officer.
In this new role, she will create and execute a fundraising plan that builds on AHCJ’s existing relationships with foundations while developing new strategies for diversifying revenue.
Webcast to explain why free
preventive care under the ACA is at risk

A. Mark Fendrick, M.D.
One of the most important requirements of the Affordable Care Act is that all Americans get free preventive services. This provision is significant in a health care system that regularly bills patients exorbitant amounts for many routine services designed to identify and prevent potentially significant health problem.
The provision is in jeopardy, however, according to a decision last month from Judge Reed O’Connor in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth. In the case, Braidwood Management Inc. v Xavier Becerra, O’Connor ruled on March 30 that no-cost preventive health care is unconstitutional.