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Ina Jaffe

Ina Jaffe is a veteran NPR correspondent covering the aging of America. Her stories on Morning Edition and All Things Considered have focused on older adults' involvement in politics and elections, dating and divorce, work and retirement, fashion and sports, as well as issues affecting long term care and end of life choices. In 2015, she was named one of the nation's top "Influencers in Aging" by PBS publication Next Avenue, which wrote "Jaffe has reinvented reporting on aging."

Jaffe also reports on politics, contributing to NPR's coverage of national elections since 2008. From her base at NPR's production center in Culver City, California, Jaffe has covered most of the region's major news events, from the beating of Rodney King to the election of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She's also developed award-winning enterprise pieces. Her 2012 investigation into how the West Los Angeles VA made millions from illegally renting vacant property while ignoring plans to house homeless veterans won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists as well as a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media. A few months after the story aired, the West Los Angeles VA broke ground on supportive housing for homeless vets.

Her year-long coverage on the rising violence in California's public psychiatric hospitals won the 2011 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award as well as a Gracie Award. Her 2010 series on California's tough three strikes law was honored by the American Bar Association with the Silver Gavel Award, as well as by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Before moving to Los Angeles, Jaffe was the first editor of Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon, which made its debut in 1985.

Born in Chicago, Jaffe attended the University of Wisconsin and DePaul University, receiving bachelor's and master's degrees in philosophy, respectively.

  • Caregivers who are trained in responding to anxiety or aggression in people with dementia can effectively reduce those symptoms, studies find.
    Behavioral Therapy Helps More Than Drugs For Dementia Patients
    Ina Jaffe
    Non-drug approaches for treating aggression and other symptoms of dementia work better than antipsychotic drugs, a study finds, and are less risky. That includes teaching caregivers how to respond.
  • AARP Members Tour Cutting Edge Tech Show
    Ina Jaffe
    Members of the AARP's Nevada chapter toured the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas --demonstrating older adults are comfortable with, and interested in new technology.
  • Antipsychotic drugs aren't necessary in the vast majority of dementia cases, gerontologists say. The pills can be stupefying and greatly raise the risk of falls — and hip fracture.
    Old And Overmedicated: The Real Drug Problem In Nursing Homes
    Ina Jaffe
    Way too many residents of U.S. nursing homes are on antipsychotic drugs, critics say. It's often just for the convenience of the staff, to sedate patients agitated by dementia. That's illegal.
  • Voters Decide Minimum Wage, Marijuana Ballot Measures
    Ina Jaffe
    Across the country, many voter initiatives were on the ballots. Minimum wage questions were on ballots in five states. In addition, three states and the District of Columbia voted on marijuana issues.
  • Ilona Royce Smithkin, 93, cut her red hair to make her eyelashes.
    'A Lovely Feeling': Celebrating Older Women With Fabulous Style
    Ina Jaffe
    The fashion industry is sometimes criticized for unrealistic portrayals of young women. But if you're a woman older than 60, there are almost no portrayals, realistic or otherwise. Now a fashion blog called Advanced Style has made stars of some of these older fashionistas, including a 93-year-old who says the spotlight makes her feel like she's "part of the world."
  • Series Overview: More Americans Working Past Retirement Age
    Ina Jaffe
    Most people don't expect to work beyond retirement age, but for a growing number of older people, it's a reality. Almost a third of Americans between the ages of 65 and 70 are still working. For those 75 years and older, 7 percent are still on the job. An NPR series profiles some of these working seniors.
  • The 388-acre campus of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Los Angeles was donated to the federal government more than 100 years ago for use as a home for disabled veterans, but is no longer used for that purpose. In 2007, Building 209, pictured here, was designated as a place to house disabled homeless vets. It is currently abandoned.
    Los Angeles VA Has Made Millions On Rental Deals
    Ina Jaffe
    The West Los Angeles VA Medical Center is a nearly 400-acre campus whose onetime sole purpose was to house veterans, but some say it has lost sight of that mission. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been renting chunks of the land, mostly to enterprises that have nothing to do with helping veterans.
  • From left, GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney participate in the Fox News/Google GOP debate at the Orange County Convention Center in September. Since then, the candidates have gotten tougher on each other.
    GOP Candidates Step Up Attacks On Each Other
    Ina Jaffe
    As the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire near, the Republican presidential hopefuls are no longer keeping their sniping focused on President Obama. In the past few days, the contenders have shown themselves to be ready to fight each other.
  • Atascadero State Hospital, in central California, was built to treat mentally ill criminals. Since a new treatment plan was put into place, violent incidents at the hospital have increased. "I have constituents who ... work in the facility that are just distraught about their sense of threat and risk and potential injury," says one state lawmaker.
    Violence Surges At Hospital For Mentally Ill Criminals
    Ina Jaffe
    Atascadero State Hospital in central California was built to treat criminals who are mentally ill. But since 2006, assaults on staff have risen markedly. Employees blame the increase on a federally enforced plan that they say requires them to spend more time on paperwork than treating patients.
  • At a rally at Napa State Hospital in January, workers demand better safety measures for staff and patients. One worker carries a sign with a photo of Donna Gross, a hospital worker killed last year, allegedly by a patient.
    At California Mental Hospitals, Fear Is Part Of The Job
    Ina Jaffe
    When a psychiatric technician at Napa State Hospital was murdered last fall, allegedly by a patient, staffers began going public with their safety complaints. More than 80 percent of the patients at the hospital arrived by way of the criminal justice system — deemed either not guilty by reason of insanity or just too dangerous to be paroled.
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