By Annie Waldman and Heather Vogell This article comes from ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. On an August morning in Emanuel County in eastern Georgia, hundreds of children bounded off freshly cleaned school buses and out of their parents’ cars. They were greeted by the principal, teachers and staff at Swainsboro Middle School,…
Sunken Costs: The utility giant’s quiet purchasing spree could shield it from coal ash cleanup expenses This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Georgia Health News is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. By Max Blau Over the past several years, utility giant Georgia…
Dr. Ed Ades works with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton on its health team. Ades, who lives in Atlanta, previously was with the CDC for more than 30 years, leading development and implementation of successful projects and programs in infectious disease prevention. He has extensive experience in the field of immunotherapy and vaccine development. …
As a travel nurse, Denise Robinson of Atlanta takes assignments on a temporary basis in hospitals in Georgia and elsewhere. This year she traveled to New York to work at a hospital during the height of the city’s COVID-19 crisis. The workplace hazards she faced – the risk of infection in a virus hot spot —…
By William Newlin Tara Graham recently emerged from the side entrance of the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse ready to face one of two major public health threats looming this fall. Graham, a clerk in the county magistrate court, had just received her flu shot from a joint clinic run by the University of Georgia Health Center…
For a year of her life, Linda Ferguson lived in a booth at a transit stop. She spent another year living under a bridge. Her homelessness, she says now, “was a bad situation. Nobody likes to be outside. It’s a very insecure feeling.’’ At one point Ferguson, who deals with severe anxiety attacks, lost her…
A USA Today analysis shows that of the 10 counties in the nation with the highest death rates from COVID-19, five are in Georgia. Hancock County is No. 1 on the list. The Middle Georgia county, with a death rate from COVID-19 of 45.7 per 10,000 residents, became a virus hot spot after outbreaks in two…
In the fifth grade, 51 percent of girls in Georgia have healthy aerobic ability. By the 12th grade, the number plummets to 31 percent. What’s causing this drop? And what can be done about it? A group of nonprofits, led by the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, have decided to focus on the issue — and on…
By Madeline Laguaite When Julie Burton was growing up, she had a hard time communicating with the people and the world around her. Being born profoundly deaf posed many challenges for the young Burton. But life changed for her when she started school at the Alabama School for the Deaf (ASD) and became immersed in…
He wanted to fix rural America’s broken nursing homes. Now, taxpayers may be on the hook for $76 million. By Max Blau This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Georgia Health News is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. Nearly 20 years ago, Ronnie…