Melissa Bailey
KFF Health News
Boston, MA, United States
Contact Melissa
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Past articles by Melissa:
Covid Cases Plummet 83% Among Nursing Home Staffers Despite Vaccine Hesitancy
Federal records show a steep decline in staff covid cases since December, when health care workers at thousands of nursing homes began getting their shots. Still, many are reluctant to get vaccinat… → Read More
When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price
Inaccurate and incomplete death certificates hurt those seeking relief, recourse and closure after a loved one dies. → Read More
US Barely Kept Track of the Nearly 3,000 Health Care Workers That Died in 2020
A new analysis shows a far higher number of health care worker deaths than those reported by the government. → Read More
More Than 2,900 Health Care Workers Died This Year — And the Government Barely Kept Track
The National Academy of Sciences cites journalists’ “Lost on the Frontline” project in a push to expand federal tracking of worker fatalities. → Read More
Next Showdown in Congress: Protecting Workers vs. Protecting Employers in the Pandemic
Democrats want to bind employers to follow a safety plan, while Republicans seek to shield employers and doctors from lawsuits. → Read More
Families Of Health Workers Killed By COVID Fight For Denied Workers’ Comp Benefits
Attorneys say some state workers’ compensation laws leave workers and families struggling for benefits after a COVID illness or death. → Read More
Adding to COVID Stress, Families of Health Workers Fight for Denied Workers’ Comp Benefits
Attorneys say some state workers’ compensation laws leave workers and families struggling for benefits after a COVID illness or death. → Read More
Workers Filed More Than 4,100 Complaints About Protective Gear. Some Still Died.
As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear. → Read More
Exclusive: Nearly 600 — And Counting — US Health Workers Have Died Of COVID-19
The Guardian and KHN release new figures Saturday showing the harsh toll that the pandemic is taking on the front-line health workers. → Read More
Bringing ‘Poogie’ Home: Hospice In The Time Of COVID-19
One family took up the challenge of taking their mother, who had serious medical problems and the coronavirus, from the hospital to die at home. But because of the risk of infection, home hospice c… → Read More
How Climate Change Is Putting Doctors In The Hot Seat
Health care providers are seeing the effects of climate change in hospitals across the U.S. ― and urging their peers to take action. → Read More
On The Eve Of Retirement, VA Nurse Succumbs To COVID-19
Nurse Divina “Debbie” Accad had cared for veterans for over 25 years and was set to retire in April. But after contracting the novel coronavirus, she spent her final 11 days on a ventilator — and didn’t survive past March. → Read More
Lost On The Frontline
“Lost on the Frontline” is a collaboration between The Guardian and Kaiser Health News that aims to document the lives of health care workers in the U.S. who die from COVID-19, and to understand why so many are falling victim to the pandemic. → Read More
Nurse At Nevada VA Dies After Caring For Infected Colleague
Nurse Vianna Thompson, 52, spent two night shifts caring for a fellow Veterans Affairs health care worker who was dying from COVID-19. Two weeks later, she too was lying in a hospital intensive care unit, with a co-worker holding her hand as she died. → Read More
How Journalists Can Address Mistrust in Pandemic Coverage and Help "Flatten the Curve"
A look at how journalists can address mistrust and misinformation related to the coronavirus—and how they can help curb the pandemic. → Read More
Beyond Burnout: Docs Decry ‘Moral Injury’ From Financial Pressures Of Health Care
Doctors and other clinicians say they’re enduring moral injury because the business of health care interferes with patient care. → Read More
‘I Feel Like I’m In Jail’: Hospital Alarms Torment Patients
As alarms proliferate, hospitals are working to sort through the cacophony that can overwhelm staff and cause them to overlook real signs of harm. → Read More
‘Fear Of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients In Bed
In what experts call an “epidemic of immobility,” older hospital patients remain stuck in bed, their movements tracked by loud and ineffective bed alarms, losing muscle mass that’… → Read More
Genetic-Testing Scam Targets Seniors And Rips Off Medicare
Capitalizing on the growing popularity of genetic testing — and fears of terminal illness — scammers are persuading seniors to hand over cheek swabs with their DNA, not knowing it may lead to ident… → Read More
Genetic-Testing Scam Targets Seniors And Rips Off Medicare
Capitalizing on the growing popularity of genetic testing — and fears of terminal illness — scammers are persuading seniors to hand over cheek swabs with their DNA, not knowing it may lead to ident… → Read More