- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/nyregion/at-queens-high-rise-fear-death-and-myth-collided.html
- http://www.propublica.org/article/in-hurricanes-wake-decisions-not-to-evacuate-hospitals-raise-questions
- http://www.propublica.org/article/nyus-backup-system-undone-by-key-part-in-flooded-basement
- http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/09/hurricane_isaac_tests_the_regi.html#
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Editors were Gordon Russell (Times-Picyaune), Stephen Engelberg and Robin Fields (ProPublica) and Rebecca Corbett and Ian Trontz (The New York Times)
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
September 9, November 1, and December 19, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
These examples of reporting from the disaster public health beat looked at the impact of hurricanes in New York City and New Orleans in 2012. The stories showed ways that major lessons from previous hurricanes were not learned, including that significant portions of the cities’ healthcare infrastructure remain highly vulnerable to flooding. The stories also revealed areas for future focus, including better preparedness to meet the needs of elderly and disabled residents of high rise complexes in prolonged power outages. The ProPublica investigation of evacuation decisionmaking was published three days after Hurricane Sandy and offered the first comprehensive look at the impact of New York City’s failure to evacuate low-lying hospitals and nursing homes in advance of the storm. The NYU story, also published by ProPublica three days after Sandy, was the first to reveal the real reason for the backup power failure at a major New York City hospital complex – power distribution circuits in the hospital’s basement. The issue was not mentioned in the hospital’s official press release on the power loss but was divulged by the hospital’s chief engineer during an interview when he was confronted with information gleaned from reporting on Hurricane Irene the previous year. The New York Times story on the Queens high rise uncovered the death of Thomas Anderson at a building where the existence of a death was at first denied by owners and city officials and not included in storm related death statistics. The Times-Picayune story about Hurricane Isaac in New Orleans followed several weeks of reporting on that disaster and showed that investments in better preparedness among hospitals had made an impact, but serious gaps existed in preparing to meet the needs of nursing home residents and seniors who live independently.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Data that were used included statistics on the distribution of power outages in healthcare facilities and high rises, numbers of people affected by them, emergency room visits, medical shelter admissions, National Guard “knock knock” wellness check campaign statistics and GPS coordinates, public health syndromic surveillance for key illnesses, and post-hurricane deaths. New York State FOIL requests were made to obtain public emergency planning documents. The academic literature and current and historical codes and regulations were consulted on emergency preparedness and electrical power systems. These data and records provided a sense of scope of the problems and allowed for the production of a graphic to accompany the Queens high rise story. Transcripts of interviews and information culled from years of reporting on previous disasters were also reviewed, and key quotes and ideas were used in current stories to focus accountability and offer historical context.
Explain types of human sources used.
These stories were mainly the product of on the ground reporting, interviews and observations at hospitals, nursing homes, emergency incident command centers, and high rise apartment complexes before, during and after the hurricanes. More than 200 people were spoken with in the course of the reporting, including patients, family members, apartment complex residents, healthcare professionals, administrators, owners of private nursing homes and apartment buildings, disaster preparedness and engineering experts, public relations professionals and public officials on the local, state and federal levels.
Results:
The stories were widely distributed in disaster preparedness circles and amongst public officials and also resulted in radio and television news interviews. With regards to developments related to the issues identified in the stories: On September 20, 2012 the New Orleans City Council passed Resolution R-12-344 “designed to relieve senior and disabled citizens suffering without electricity during and in the aftermath of weather emergency electrical power outages.” The resolution seeks a state law that would require nursing home and residential building owners and developers that receive state tax credit incentives to have backup generators. The Louisiana legislature convenes again in April 2013, and a senator and representative have taken initiative for driving the proposed legislation. In New York on November 28, 2012, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo appointed emergency preparedness commissions tasked with considering, among other subjects, healthcare vulnerabilities and ensuring the health and safety of hospital patients and other vulnerable people during disasters. The commissions’ recommendations, delivered in early January, included the expansion of databases to track the most vulnerable residents so that they can be helped by emergency responders, and re-thinking the locations of hospitals and nursing homes in flood-prone areas. At this writing (January 4), it is expected that at the Governor’s State of the State address next week, he will endorse some of these proposals.
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.
If you’ve covered a beat for an extended period, dig into your previous reporting to give readers a better sense of the history of a problem, progress in solving it, gaps, and who or what entities should be held to account for solving it. Become an expert on your subject, keep current on the issues and problems and look for innovative ways to share the stories with your readers.