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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Low-glycemic foods that take awhile to digest may help keep weight off longer than other diets. The low-glycemic diet comes out on top in a new study that compared to the low-carb diet and the low fat diet. -
Researchers concluded that exposure to diagnostic radiation before age 30 is associated with an increased breast cancer risk in women with a certain genetic mutation. They recommend that if a girl or young woman needs diagnostic evaluation via X-ray or CT scan for any reason, she should undergo MRI, which does not use radiation. -
Researchers have found an association between sleep problems among older adults and dementia later in life. If diagnosed early, treatments like controlling stimuli before bed can help and possibly reduce the risk of cognitive decline. -
Calcium has been touted to stave off osteoporosis and promote bone health. But new research suggests going overboard on calcium consumption could lead to kidney stones or even a heart attack. -
Young Americans who came of age in a world with AIDS say worrying about HIV in 2012 isn't much different from worrying about other sexually transmitted diseases. But others say there isn't much discussion about the risks of the disease in their community. -
Our call-out on Facebook for people to share their experiences of the health care system yielded wrenching tales of bankruptcies, medical errors, and delayed or foregone treatment. -
Our call-out on Facebook for people to share their experiences of the health care system yielded wrenching tales of bankruptcies, medical errors, and delayed or foregone treatment.
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With the rising incidence of obesity comes a rising incidence of the health-related problems it causes. Pediatricians report seeing high blood pressure, heart disease and even certain cancers — diseases previously considered problems among adults only — in children as young as 3. -
Nobody wants to hear a baby cry. Researchers say the same techniques that soothe a colicky infant can help relieve the pain of vaccinations. -
A sinus infection often sends patients to doctors expecting relief in the form of antibiotics. But researchers have found antibiotics don't help fight sinus infections. What should patients be doing to get relief from a sinus infection?
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Most people who wear contact lenses don't clean them properly. In fact, a recent survey found that some people admit to using lemonade, butter and beer to clean them. Dirty contact lenses can cause serious eye infections so cleaning them properly is important.
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Medicare has announced that it will pay for primary care providers to counsel obese patients on losing weight and maintaining the weight loss. Medicare will pay doctors, nurses and physicians' assistants to help plan weight loss programs.
