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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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. -
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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Eating lots of red meat increases the chances of dying prematurely of cancer and heart disease. Previous research had found a link between red meat and an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.
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A vigorous online lobbying campaign has made a disturbing disease a priority for the Centers for Disease Control. Patients from California, Texas and Florida describe symptoms including rashes and sores, and the sensation of things crawling under their skin. Many sufferers believe they have something called Morgellons disease.
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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.
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A new study shows that daughters of women who took the anti-miscarriage drug DES, a synthetic estrogen, have a higher risk of developing breast cancer after age 50.
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A decade ago, the best that doctors could offer Alzheimer's patients and their families was an early diagnosis. Today, doctors have four medications to offer, but there's no agreement on how helpful those drugs are.
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When it comes to back pain, there are alternatives to surgery and prescriptions. Some doctors prescribe a combination of over-the-counter medications, exercise and pain-management techniques to get patients moving and pain-free.
