We are pleased to present a new story in a series about how Columbia Journalism School has been training students to become leading health care reporters. Around the globe, the work of health care journalists is vital for keeping the public aware of how the actions of hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, health care professionals, government agencies, and policymakers can impact our lives and well-being. Today, we spotlight two alumni -
The New York Times' Ellen Gabler and the
Tampa Bay Times' Kathleen McGrory - whose recent investigative work has exposed life-threatening problems and led to changes at two major children's hospitals.
Ellen Gabler, a 2007 graduate of the inaugural class of the
Master of Science Program's
Stabile Investigative Specialization and an
adjunct professor at Columbia Journalism School, published the May 2019
New York Times investigation "
Doctors Were Alarmed: 'Would I Have My Children Have Surgery Here?'" that revealed high death rates among pediatric heart patients at North Carolina Children's Hospital, which is part of the University of North Carolina Medical System.
Gabler's story cited
secret audio recordings that she received of doctors' meetings in which cardiologists expressed their worries about the performance and quality of the hospital's heart surgery program, even as the surgeries continued to be performed. Following the publication of Gabler's article, North Carolina’s secretary of health called for an
investigation into the hospital. North Carolina Children's Hospital also decided to
suspend its most complex heart surgeries until until state and federal regulators and outside experts finish their investigations of the pediatric heart surgery program.
Kathleen McGrory, a 2006 graduate of the
Master of Science Program, and her
Tampa Bay Times colleague Neil Bedi published "
Heartbroken," an impactful 2018 series of investigative stories about the problems at the Heart Institute at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Florida that led to the deaths of at least 11 children. "Heartbroken" won the 2018
George Polk Award for local reporting, tied for first place for a 2018
Investigative Reporters and Editors Award (Division II Print/Online Competition), and was a finalist for the 2019
Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.
McGrory and Bedi's year-long investigation showed a disturbing rate of death and a pattern of poor care in the Heart Institute at the renowned children’s hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Their reporting eventually led to the resignations of the hospital's CEO, three vice presidents, and two surgeons. The "Heartbroken" series also instigated an investigation by federal regulators, who identified major safety problems at the hospital and threatened to withhold funding from the hospital if the issues were not swiftly addressed. All Children's Baltimore-based parent institution, Johns Hopkins University, had ceased heart surgery in the hospital pending an independent investigator's report.
"Built on solid shoe-leather sourcing as well as impressive and unique data analysis in an area where there were not available lawsuits or a host of public records," the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award judges commented. "Most importantly, this series had compassionate storytelling about a children’s heart hospital, along with results. The impact was swift and significant, triggering resignations and a full review across the hospital chain."
At Columbia Journalism School, students in both the
Master of Science Program and the
Master of Science Program's Stabile Investigative Specialization have the opportunity to learn about the health care beat and build their investigative and data skills in such classes as
"Investigating Health Care" and
"Investigating the Failures of the Mental Health System."
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