- bendbulletin.com/article/20110123/FREE/301239998/1051
- bendbulletin.com/article/20110410/FREE/304109999/1051
- bendbulletin.com/article/20110725/FREE/307259998/1051
- bendbulletin.com/article/20111227/FREE/312279999/1051
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Jan. 23, 2011, April 10, 2011, July 25, 2011, Dec. 27, 2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The Jan. 23 story exposed a huge price disparity between two local medical clinics and discussed the implications of variations in prices on overall health care costs. The April 10 story, about a patient suicide, disclosed a tragic event at the region’s only inpatient psychiatric hospital and discussed the prevention of suicides and other never-events in hospitals. The July 25 story revealed a potential threat to patients at the area’s largest hospital due to shortcuts in instrument sterilization. The Dec. 27 story, on a disparate rise in salaries at the area’s largest hospital system, analyzed financial information to look at how the system allocated its payroll expenses, finding that administrative salaries had risen much faster than clinical.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The Jan 23 story used medical bills obtained from a source. The April 10 story used state inspection reports obtained with a FOI request. The July 25 story used hospital data. The Dec. 27 story used financial information obtained from 990 tax filings.
Explain types of human sources used.
Both the Jan 23 and July 25 story originated with tips, one from a source who called after seeing other stories, one from a longtime background source at the hospital. The July 25 story, in particular, relied heavily on background information before going to the hospital with information. All stories used expert sources to give context and round out reporting.
Results:
The January story, we learned after publishing, was circulated around the state legislature during debate about Health Policy. The July story resulted in a lot of reader response, with a number of people calling in outraged at the practice.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections or clarifications. St. Charles, the subject of the Dec. 27 story, recently submitted an Op-Ed challenging the analysis in the Dec 27 story, though it did not result in corrections or clarifications.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Follow up on reliable tips. With the surgical safety story in particular, I got a tip from someone who worked in quality management at the hospital. I felt like it was a good source, but it still took a lot of background reporting and research to get to a point where I realized what the story was.