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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If you own a rescue dog, you're probably curious about your pup's heritage. DNA kits may offer insights, but experts warn to be a little skeptical about results. -
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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Many women get their hair dyed or straightened regularly with products that contain thousands of chemicals. Researchers are teasing out whether our hair habits could be raising our breast cancer risk. -
A national survey by psychologists shows a significant rise in U.S. stress in 2019. Mass shootings, the election campaign and concerns about health care costs and access top the list of stressors. -
An expert panel wants the Food And Drug Administration to withdraw its approval for Makena, because a large study shows the drug doesn't work. But some doctors say the evidence isn't clear-cut. -
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.
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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.
