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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As the coronavirus spreads across the U.S., federal health officials recommend people stock up on their prescription medication. Some insurance companies are loosening their refill restrictions.
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As evacuees who cleared a 14-day quarantine return home to their communities, a U.S. man talks of his experience in China and the transition home. -
More pet owners are doing it — sending in dog saliva to find out the genetic history of their dog. Curiosity is one big reason but the test can also help with disease prevention and health promotion.
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U.S. adults put on about a pound a year on average. But people who had a regular nut-snacking habit put on less weight and had a lower risk of becoming obese over time, a new study finds. -
When it comes to fighting heart disease among low-income individuals, researchers find that an all-in-one pill may be just what's needed to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
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Never mind a runner's high — the buzz some people say they get after a run. Neuroscientist Benedict Kolber was more interested in how to generate pain relief via a brisk walk. It can really work. -
Advisers to the FDA concluded a meeting Tuesday on the safety of breast implants. What's emerged is a lack of scientific certainty about the risks implants pose to millions of women who have them.
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Pregnant women in intensive care with severe cases of the flu have a higher risk of giving birth to babies prematurely. The risk of breathing problems for the baby is also substantially higher. -
When you go to the doctor in pain, you'll probably be asked to rate your discomfort on a scale of 0 to 10. But doctors say there may be a better way to assess pain. -
The jury's been out on whether low blood levels of vitamin D increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Researchers say a new review involving more than 12,000 people strongly suggests the answer is yes.
