Sarasota Health News

Editor's notebook, Sept. 23, 2009

David Gulliver - posted 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009

Several Sarasota Health News readers have told me lately that the Herald-Tribune seems to have ramped up its healthcare coverage in the last month or two. I had noticed it, too. I have to say it’s not at all unexpected, and I congratulate the paper.

If you’ve been to the “about us” page of this site, you’ve seen this statement, which has been there since we launched two months ago: One intent of Sarasota Health News is “to spark more discussion and coverage of healthcare and social services.”

On Aug. 14, exactly a month after this site launched, the H-T launched its healthcare blog, The Prescription,
written by reporter Anna Scott. The paper also has occasionally deputized Sarasota County government reporter Doug Sword to help with coverage of novel H1N1 influenza (aka swine flu).

The blog, which seems to draw its name from the parent company The New York Times’ Prescriptions blog, and its look from The New Republic’s healthcare reform blog, is a good way to get a boiled-down version of the top story from the health wires or a preview of a local story in progress.

It’s also a way for the H-T to supplement its coverage at a time when the company doesn’t have the resources to fill reporting positions.

“I believe the coverage of health and aging is one of the four or five most important stories in our community. We have long been determined to do more and more in that area,” said Mike Connelly, the paper’s executive editor, in an interview last week.

Connelly said county reporter Sword has been helping with flu stories because of his many contacts at the county agencies preparing for the illness’s spread.

He said he still hopes to someday have four reporters on health and aging issues. It now has two, with Scott on health care and Kevin McQuaid on the business of aging, though McQuaid often assists with his former beat of commercial real estate. Victor Hull, who provided award-winning coverage of aging issues, is now an editor overseeing southern Sarasota County coverage.

What struck me last week, after I spoke with Connelly, was that even as the H-T expands its efforts, there is a need for broader coverage of health issues. It was clear in how the paper and this website covered the latest statistics on flu cases in Sarasota County.

The paper zeroed in on the biggest and clearest trend in the data, a surge in public school students reporting flu-like illness. The story that schools’ experience indicated that the flu “shows no signs of slowing down before the first vaccine shipments arrive next month.”

Except that other data in the same report did exactly that. Emergency rooms at the county’s four hospitals saw a smaller percentage of flu cases that week than the week before. Moreover, the schools’ data was already week old, while the hospitals’ data was current.

The hospitals’ dip in cases may well prove to be temporary, and the schools’ surge was significant. But when we report on an issue as scary as an epidemic of a new flu virus, it’s crucial to give people the entire picture. Perhaps between the paper and this website, we can do that.





	Editor's notebook, Sept. 23, 2009 David Gulliver - posted 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009 Several Sarasota Health News readers have told me lately that the Herald-Tribune seems to have ramped up its healthcare coverage in the last month or two. I had noticed it, too. I have to say it’s not at all unexpected, and I congratulate the paper. If you’ve been to the “about us” page of this site, you’ve seen this statement, which has been there since we launched two months ago: One intent of Sarasota Health News is “to spark more discussion and coverage of healthcare and social services.” On Aug. 14, exactly a month after this site launched, the H-T launched its healthcare blog, The Prescription, written by reporter Anna Scott. The paper also has occasionally deputized Sarasota County government reporter Doug Sword to help with coverage of novel H1N1 influenza (aka swine flu). The blog, which seems to draw its name from the parent company The New York Times’ Prescriptions blog, and its look from The New Republic’s healthcare reform blog, is a good way to get a boiled-down version of the top story from the health wires or a preview of a local story in progress. It’s also a way for the H-T to supplement its coverage at a time when the company doesn’t have the resources to fill reporting positions. “I believe the coverage of health and aging is one of the four or five most important stories in our community. We have long been determined to do more and more in that area,” said Mike Connelly, the paper’s executive editor, in an interview last week. Connelly said county reporter Sword has been helping with flu stories because of his many contacts at the county agencies preparing for the illness’s spread. He said he still hopes to someday have four reporters on health and aging issues. It now has two, with Scott on health care and Kevin McQuaid on the business of aging, though McQuaid often assists with his former beat of commercial real estate. Victor Hull, who provided award-winning coverage of aging issues, is now an editor overseeing southern Sarasota County coverage. What struck me last week, after I spoke with Connelly, was that even as the H-T expands its efforts, there is a need for broader coverage of health issues. It was clear in how the paper and this website covered the latest statistics on flu cases in Sarasota County. The paper zeroed in on the biggest and clearest trend in the data, a surge in public school students reporting flu-like illness. The story that schools’ experience indicated that the flu “shows no signs of slowing down before the first vaccine shipments arrive next month.” Except that other data in the same report did exactly that. Emergency rooms at the county’s four hospitals saw a smaller percentage of flu cases that week than the week before. Moreover, the schools’ data was already week old, while the hospitals’ data was current. The hospitals’ dip in cases may well prove to be temporary, and the schools’ surge was significant. But when we report on an issue as scary as an epidemic of a new flu virus, it’s crucial to give people the entire picture. Perhaps between the paper and this website, we can do that.