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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The number of workers getting less than seven hours of sleep a night is rising. Stress and our culture of constant connection may be to blame. -
Pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease are particularly vulnerable to flu complications yet lag the elderly in getting vaccinated. -
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. -
Doctors, lab technicians and telemarketers from around the U.S. were among those arrested in the investigation of a scheme that the DOJ alleges defrauded seniors and Medicare. -
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. -
Pessimists may suspect this finding, but researchers who tracked the health outcomes of thousands of adults across many years found optimists were much more likely to reach 85. Optimism is teachable. -
Pain researchers say men and women respond differently to pain, and women may "feel more" pain than men. Understanding the differences in pain perception could lead to better treatments. -
An inspector general report from the Department of Health and Human Services found that 100,000 kids who were newly prescribed ADHD medication didn't see a care provider for months afterward. -
The government asked manufacturers to complete safety studies on the active ingredients in sunscreens by November. In the meantime, what do you need to know about the goo you slather on your skin? -
Advances in online tech are revolutionizing health care, with patients now emailing doctors, filling prescriptions or even getting therapy via a video session. But what if you can't afford broadband?
