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 the ongoing debate about the possible benefits of vitamin D supplements, a study suggests that the vitamin might indeed play a role in mildly reducing high blood pressure. The study was small and looked at just African-Americans, but the authors say the findings warrant further research. -
Many parents struggle to find the time to get their kids the exercise they need. But some parents are trying to make walking and biking part of their daily lives, not something they have to schedule. -
Parents will be reassured to hear there's no evidence linking the current timeline for vaccinations to health problems. A review of all available scientific data looked at a wide range of medical conditions — including diabetes, autism and epilepsy — before declaring that there's no reason to worry. -
Researchers find that when young people exercise, their mental health improves through a more positive self-image and through winning friends. But sports psychologists aren't sure whether exercise makes teenagers more confident or more confident teenagers take part in sports. -
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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Nobody wants to hear a baby cry. Researchers say the same techniques that soothe a colicky infant can help relieve the pain of vaccinations. -
Parents nowadays are trying to be closer to their kids than ever before, which can make it harder to set limits. A Harvard psychologist advises parents to encourage teens' independence, but also be clear about when they cross the line and what is expected of them. -
Tweens and teens go through developmental changes that can be exasperating for parents and can make them feel ineffective. Experts talk about those trying teen years and how parents can learn to cope more effectively while their child moves toward adulthood.
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A new study finds that green tea significantly reduces the risk of death from many causes, including heart disease. The study did not find, however, that green tea has any effect on cancer, as has been previously claimed.
