List date(s) this work was published or aired.
June 11, 2012: “Health benefits for vets: who’s answering the call” January 9, 2012: “UnitedHealthcare joins fight against childhood obesity November 12, 2012: “Center is using data to bend the medical cost curve” September 10, 2012: “A summer well spent at Lifespan youth program
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
1. “Health benefits for vets: who’s answering the call” tells the story of a Vietnam veteran, awarded numerous combat honors, now stricken with cancer, having lost his job and his health insurance because of his illness, who found himself unable to break through the logjam at the VA to file a claim and access benefits. The story follows the veteran as he visits the Statehouse for the first time, to attend an event honoring Vietnam veterans. 2. “UnitedHealthcare joins fight against childhood obesity” tells the story of how an evidence-based pilot program targeting overweight children served as the launching pad for a family-based workplace wellness program, a partnership between UnitedHealthcare and Raytheon, a large regional employer. The reporting interweaves the personal experiences of an 11-year-old and his successful efforts to trim his weight with insights from academic researchers and long-term cost goals from health insurance executives. The story was published two weeks ahead of a New York Times story about this very topic. 3. “Center is using data to bend the medical cost curve” tells the story of how a community health center, using its own health IT system, was able to bend its medical cost curve by more than $5 million in one year by fully integrating data at the point of care. The story documents how community health centers are serving as the pioneers in innovative health care delivery systems that offer affordable, accessible, and high quality care. 4. “A summer well spent at Lifespan youth program” tells the story of a successful training program for urban teens in building employment opportunities within the state’s largest private employer, the Lifespan hospital network.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
1. Veterans benefits story: researched numerous databases and online government and news sources on history and changing status of benefits for Vietnam veterans. No FOI requests required. 2. Clinical weight loss studies published by Rena Wing at Brown University, background documentation provided by UnitedHealthcare, documentation from Rhode Island KIDS COUNT factbook, materials from R.I. Department of Health about childhood obesity. No FOI requests required. 3. Documentation provided by Blackstone Valley Community Health Center, detailing their health IT build out and quality and cost statistics. Additional background information came from my own extensive files about health IT technology reporting, looking at population management analytics, reports by global vendors, such as ATT, and materials available from CMS. No FOI was required. 4. Documentation from the R.I. Governor’s Workforce Board. No FOI was required.
Explain types of human sources used.
1. Veterans benefits story: personal interview with Wayne Hathcock, with numerous representatives at VA offices nationally and locally, attendance at special session honoring Vietnam veterans, conducting numerous personal interviews, and interviews with VA hospital officials and doctors. 2. Interviews with Ryan Morel and his mother, interviews with Rena Wing, director of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center within the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine in Providence, Elissa Jelalian, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School, Tom Beauregard, executive vice president at UnitedHealthcare, and Karen Leslie, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Providence. 3. Heather Budd, COO, Blackstone Valley Community Health Center, Ray Lavoie, executive director, Blackstone Valley Community Health Center, U.S.Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island CFO, Steven M. Constantino, secretary of the R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Dr. Michael Fine, director of the R.I. Department of Health, Dennis Keefe, president and CEO of Care New England, Dr. David Blumenthal, the chief health information and innovation officer at Partners in Boston, Dr. Al Kurose, CEO of Coastal Medical, Dr. Peter Andruszkiewicz, president and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI. 4. Summer teen program story: interviews with with numerous participants in the program, Richard Brooks, executive director of the R.I. Governor’s Workforce Board, Brandon Melton, senior vice president of human resources at Lifespan, Alexis Devine, the Youth Development Coordinator with Lifespan Workforce Development. 4.
Results:
1. Veterans benefits story: because of my reporting and interviews with local VA officials, new information and file was finally created for Hathcock, although he still has yet to receive any word on access to benefits. Most importantly, Hathcock, reluctant to talk about himself and his wartime experiences, said he was grateful for the opportunity to share his story and be heard. 2. fight against childhood obesity story: hard to quantify a direct result, per se, but a number of workplace wellness programs at both small and large businesses across Rhode Island began to look at similar family-based programs for employees. Also, unable to claim it as a direct result, but Providence Business News held its first workplace wellness awards event, a sign that business community was becoming more interested in this area. 4. Gianny Munoz, a program graduate, was interviewed by a newspaper for the first time, about his accomplishments and his future goals.
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.
1. None 2. None 3. None 4. None
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
1. Be willing to leave the office and spend time with the veteran. Veterans are very reticent to talk about their experiences, particularly if they have engaged in heavy combat. Also, be willing to push back hard at the information provided by VA officials, which tends to look on the bright side of life. 2. Develop good working relationships with key communications folks at health insurance companies, who can provide access to stories. Work with local academic researchers to get insights into such evidence-based programs. Listen carefully to the concerns of both the parent and child when each tells their story. 3. Look for stories that can translate facts and figures about health IT into bite-size nuggets about innovation. Large hospitals and their communications staffs are more “visible” than other folks, such as community health centers, but the real innovations, in my opinion, are taking place at the health center level, in terms of changing the way that data is being used to improve the health of the patient. 4. I was the only reporter who attended the graduation ceremony of the summer program. I often try and attend such events, because they can translate “health care” stories into human stories. Editors today often prefer that you spend time on the phone, rather than going to an event in person, but I have found that attending such events is the best way to dig up stories. It’s more time intensive, but often more rewarding.