Patti Neighmond
Award-winning journalist Patti Neighmond is NPR's health policy correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.
Based in Los Angeles, Neighmond has covered health care policy since April 1987. She joined NPR's staff in 1981, covering local New York City news as well as the United Nations. In 1984, she became a producer for NPR's science unit and specialized in science and environmental issues.
Neighmond has earned a broad array of awards for her reporting. In 1993, she received the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for coverage of health reform. That same year, she received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for a story on a young quadriplegic who convinced Georgia officials that she could live at home less expensively and more happily than in a nursing home. In 1990, Neighmond won the World Hunger Award for a story about healthcare and low-income children. She received two awards in 1989: a George Polk Award for her powerful ten-part series on AIDS patient Archie Harrison, who was taking the anti-viral drug AZT; and a Major Armstrong Award for her series on the Canadian health care system. The Population Institute, based in Washington, DC, has presented its radio documentary award to Neighmond twice: in 1988 for "Family Planning in India" and in 1984 for her coverage of overpopulation in Mexico. Her 1987 report "AIDS and Doctors" won the National Press Club Award for Consumer Journalism, and her two-part series on the aquaculture industry earned the 1986 American Association for the Advancement of Science Award.
Neighmond began her career in journalism in 1978, at the Pacifica Foundation's DC bureau, where she covered Capitol Hill and the White House. She began freelance reporting for NPR from New York City in 1980. Neighmond earned her bachelor's degree in English and drama from the University of Maryland, and now lives in Los Angeles.
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In 1987, NPR's Patricia Neighmond first profiled Archie Harrison, a young man living with HIV. What followed was a year of highs and lows, of recovery and acceptance. -
Patti Neighmond, an outgoing health policy correspondent who has worked at NPR for 40 years, remembers her favorite story — about a young quadriplegic woman dependent on a ventilator.
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Early in the pandemic, people were advised to disinfect everything they touched. But now that scientists understand more about how COVID-19 spreads, all that scrubbing down may have been overkill. -
Many favorite holiday traditions could be treacherous this year because of the coronavirus. Here's how experts view the risks — and some creative, safer alternatives to keep up a festive mood. -
Research shows having a pet improves both physical and mental health. But economic hardships are making it hard for some families to keep their pets. Animal welfare groups are trying to help.
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"Relationships with animals are simple," notes one researcher. In a year when life feels fraught, pets have been healers, helping human companions get exercise, quell anxiety and make new friends. -
The nationwide increase in pet adoptions during the pandemic is good news for orphaned animals. It's also good for humans. Research shows pets can improve both physical and mental health.
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As in-person schooling returns in some districts, mental health professionals say many children will face difficulties as a result of the isolation and worry they experience during the pandemic.
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A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds the vast majority of children dying from COVID-19 are children of color.
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As schools weigh the risks of reopening, many are making plans to lower the risks of coronavirus transmission. Here's how to vet your school's proposals.
