- http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/norfolk-retirement-home-rules-irk-some-residents
- http://hamptonroads.com/2012/10/breast-cancer-gets-most-attention-fair
- http://hamptonroads.com/2012/07/ready-or-not-autistic-teen-moves-beyond-high-school
- http://hamptonroads.com/2012/08/artist-surmounts-heart-trouble-implant
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
02-22-12 10-28-12 07-08-12 08-05-12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
1. Story about a retirement community that added requirements to a dining hall that prohibited people in the skilled nursing area to eat there, essentially segregating the sick and disabled from their healthier colleagues. 2. A look at the inequity of fund-raising abilities of various types of cancer, with breast cancer far outpacing other types of more deadly cancers. 3. Exploration of job opportunities for people with autism graduating from high school through the eyes of one young man working in a bakery 4. New generation of heart pumps moves from a bridge-type apparatus to destination therapy for people with failing hearts, through the eyes of an artist.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
1. Emails, the retirement center’s policies and regulations, correspondence from lawyers. 2. National Institutes of Health research funding. Fund-raising comparison of local cancer organizations 3. Bureau of labor statistics on employment of people with disabilities. 4. Research from University of Virginia, statistics from government agencies tracking medical devices.
Explain types of human sources used.
1. Residents, other retirement communities, family of residents, nursing home ombudsmen, state regulatory agencies. 2. Two women near death with lung and pancreatic cancer. 3. Young man who was going through high school graduation and facing uncertainty in his future. 4. Artist who had a heart pump that inspired a new series of paintings. Young man who had a heart pump to bridge him to a heart transplant.
Results:
1. The retirement community rescinded the policy the week after the story was published. 2. Response from people with other types of cancer appreciating the recognition. 3. A city department hired the young man for a job after seeing the article in the newspaper. 4. People with heart devices responded with their own experiences.
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.
Two stories followed the “Dinner for two, but not together,” one in which an advocate for the disabled helped residents file discrimination complaints and another about the facility rescinding the policy.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Make sure you put a human face to whatever issue you are delving into.