These suggested story ideas come from California Watch investigative reporter Christina Jewett. Feel free to pursue them in your community.
Can we meet baby boomers’ health care needs?
Numerous studies predict that within a decade, there will be far more baby boomers and other people in need of health care than the field is equipped to care for. The California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development’s interactive maps show areas around the state that already are lacking qualified health professionals. How is your community faring now, and what’s in store for 2020? What programs, scholarships and efforts are in place to assure that need will be met? Are they enough?
Does philosophy meet reality in child welfare?
Child welfare is run on a county-by-county basis in California. It’s a field that’s often driven by ideas – which change from decade to decade – about what is best for children of unfit parents. What is the philosophy and what are the goals in your community? County officials and leaders of community-based organizations should be able to articulate them. You can see how well your county is doing at reaching its goals by exploring the detailed and thorough data at UC Berkeley’s Child Welfare Dynamic Report System. What’s more, you can request the full case file of a child who dies as a result of abuse or neglect – a record that became public as a result of a 2007 law. The combination of data and actual case files may help tell the story of how well your county is serving its most vulnerable children.
Hospitals rich and poor
Is your local hospital in debt or rolling in cash? You can take a close look at your local hospital’s balance sheets by playing with the California HealthCare Foundation’s hospital finance “dashboard” or downloading the pivot profiles here. Download the same data from five years ago and get a snapshot of how the money flow has changed over time. The data may clue you in to which hospitals are facing a threat of closing, which are having the toughest time finding the cash to meet state seismic-safety standards. Others may be reinvesting in the newest technology or sending hefty profits back to an out-of-state corporate headquarters. A look at the financial health of area hospitals may be a great story in itself or may give you an entrée to other important stories.
QUICK LINKS
FDA product recalls
DocuTicker's list of health-related reports
Institute for Safe Medication Practices quarterly reports on drug safety
United Network for Organ Sharing data on organ donations and waiting lists
California Department of Public Health's swine flu page
News alerts from the California Department of Public Health, including recalls and swine flu updates
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