- illinoishealthmatters.org/neighborhood-stories.aspx
- youtube.com/user/ILHealthMatters
- vimeo.com/channels/illinoishealth
- illinoishealthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/Henry Edwards
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Judith Graham wrote one of the articles in the eight-part Neighborhood Stories Series. Since she is affiliated with AHCJ, her article, “Mind the Information Gap: Few Chicagoans Understanding Health Policy,” should not be considered part of our entry.
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
8/17/2011 Waiting for Health Care Reform [Video] Health Insurance May be on the Table [Video] Health Care Reform and Chicago’s West and South Side Small Businesses [Article] 9/29/2011 Policy to the People [Video] Making Health the Best Policy [Article] 10/18/2011 Community-Based Organizations Play A Critical Role in Reform [Article] Wellness on the Westside [Video]
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Neighborhood Stories is a multimedia series revealing how national health care reform is affecting people living and doing business in impoverished neighborhoods on the South and West sides of Chicago. The Affordable Care Act was designed to expand insurance coverage to uninsured Americans, and represents a once-in-a-generation change to the U.S. health system. Illinois Health Matters (a project of Health & Disability Advocates) published four articles and four short videos to portray real-life accounts of individuals, community organizations, policymakers and small business owners as some of the early provisions of the new health law went into effect. We learned that while many social service agencies understand the basic implications of the law, there is a “gaping chasm” between policymakers deciding how to implement Health Policy, politicians debating the value of this groundbreaking legislation, and the residents of some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods– many of whom appear to have no idea how reform might benefit them. Such stories go unnoticed and unreported by national and local media outlets. The series highlights a critical challenge for the Affordable Care Act and underscores the work that needs to be done before 2014 — the year when monumental Health Policy provisions will be enacted.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Very little printed data, internet resources or documentation were used, though we linked to sources on our website where people could find more information if they wanted to do so. The articles and videos were based on interviews that Jeffrey Steele, Jay Dunn or Stephani Becker conducted. No FOI or public records act requests were required.
Explain types of human sources used.
Jeffrey Steele interviewed a wide range of different individuals, whose responses comprised the great majority of material in his stories. The sources included directors and other officials of chambers of commerce, professors and other officials of universities and medical schools, economic development planners, hospital association officials, business owners, the chair of the Illinois Health Care Implementation Council, the director of the Illinois HealthCare and Family Services, Illinois state representatives, the director of policy for the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, the executive director of the Campaign for Better Health Care, and directors and other officials of Chicago social service organizations. Jay Dunn interviewed everyday people in Chicago, and in the case of one person, he secured a Spanish translator to hear her story.
Results:
The results were tens of thousands of words in notes from wide-ranging interviews. The insights included in those notes were organized and incorporated in the completed HDA articles. For the videos, the best results came from letting people tell their own stories.
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
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Develop relationships with media relations managers or communications specialists at larger social service agencies. They are often familiar with a broad array of officials at other agencies and government offices, who can lead the writer to still more sources.