The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "blood testing" ...
-
"Childhood Lead Poisoning Rates in Chicago"
In this three-part series, Matthew Hendrickson examines the factors that contribute to lead poisoning in Chicago children. He finds that most children who are affected come from low-income families and that many are at risk for health problems down the road. In Chicago, children are not required to have a blood test until they start school, so early detection of lead poisoning is rare.
Tags: Public Health Department; Chicago; childhood lead-poisoning protection program; Tony Amato;
-
Above the Law
And Inside Edition investigation exposed an inept investigation and possibly a cover-up by the Pennsylvania State Police when they investigated a fatal accident involving Dean O'Halloran, a state police officer's stepson.
Tags: cover-up; drunk driving; field sobriety test; confidentiality laws; blood alcohol test; Pennsylvania State Police
-
A Body's Burden
The authors tested a typical family's blood, hair, and urine for the presence of several everyday chemical contaminants known collectively as our "body's burden." The investigation revealed the presence of flame retardants, plastics, metals, PCBs, even the chemical precursors for Teflon and Gore-Tex in each family member, with concentrations in the children often far outpacing those in their parents.
Tags: pollution; contamination; public safety; health; chemical contamination; body burden; blood testing
-
Firefighters Under Fire
This three part series investigates the San Francisco Fire Department based on information revealed from unnamed firefighters. In "Light Duty", hidden cameras show one officer works just 16 hours a week at his full time job, but still gets paid for 40 hours. Other light duty-or injured firefighters-get paid to watch for alarms, a job that could be eliminated and save tax dollars if the system was automated. Light duty officers are supposed to be restricted to one year of this recovery work, but this rule was not enforced. "Fire Raid" shows alcohol and drug use are problems at fire stations. One officer was found on duty with a blood alcohol level above the accepted limit and another tested positive for marijuana. A third officer drove a fire truck while taking medication that warns against operating hazardous machinery. In "EMS Mistake", the paramedic team is accused of not following protocol in response to an accident and causing the victim to be paralyzed. The investigation finds that other on-going investigations accuse paramedics of assault and even leaving a live woman for dead.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; FOIA; sunshine law; firefighter; fire department; EMS; emergency medical service; hidden camera; light duty; drugs; alcohol; marijuana
-
Profiting from Hope
The Parker Hughes Cancer Center of Minnesota's Twin Cities promises their patients hope in the face of life-threatening disease. But the Star Tribune investigates these promises, and finds that the clinic has a pattern of excessive and sometimes unnecessary tests and treatments. Patients also have complaints about billing processes and unusual charges. The clinic also built up the doctors' credentials, making them sound more qualified than they actually were. Also, the clinic allegedly solicited financial 'rewards.' For example, one physician asked the Red Cross to give money to the clinic as an award for buying blood products.
Tags: Parker Hughes Cancer Center; cancer; doctor; HMO
-
Hepatitis C: Silent Alarm
This series documented the government's numerous failures to warn the American public about hepatitis C, a disease that has infected more than 4 million people in the United States. The series found that the federal government promised repeatedly to raise a public alarm about the disease but reneged almost every time. As a result, most people with hepatitis C don't even know they have it and may be spreading it. The series also found that Congress and CDC give hepatitis C a fraction of the funding and attention they give other disease such as West Nile, that has killed several hundreds. The government promised a search to find nearly two hundred thousand patients who received infected blood transfusions before 1992, when a test was available to screen out infected blood, but four years later, the campaign had stalled. The blood industry in the 1980's delayed a screening test six years that could have prevented hepatitis C in more than 300,000 patients who received blood transfusions. the government never ordered the test even though it was aware of the seriousness of the disease.
Tags: hepatitis c; virus; AIDS; public alarm; Congress; Center for Disease Control and Prevention; HCV; funding; West Nile; infected blood transfusions; infected blood; blood industry; screening test; donated blood; CDC; CDC spending; HCV money; National Institute of Health; Health and Human Services; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; FDA's Office of Blood Research and Review; Blood Products Advisory Committee; Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability; blood banks; Community Blood Center of Kansas City; Oklahoma Blood Institute
-
Medicaid Hemorrhages Money
"The nation's Medicaid program is rife with stories of fraud and abuse, but nothing quite tops the scam Dr. Surinder Singh Panshi ran from New York. For two years during the 1980s, he purchased blood from addicts, then falsely charged the state for thousands of blood tests that had never been ordered, referred or authorized. By the time he was caught and convicted, Panshi had stolen more than $3.6 million from the state's Medicaid program."
Tags: Medicaid; fraud; blood tests; Medicaid fraud; health-care scam; HCFA
-
Red Cross Investigation
CBS investigates "widespread mismanagement and fraud" the Red Cross has been grappling with. Based on internal memos and audits, the series reports on how Joseph Lecowitch, head of the New Jersey chapter stole more than one million dollars. Other findings are that many chapters have not remitted their Sept. 11 donations to national headquarters; chapters are dipping into the National Disaster Fund "for unnamed purposes;" blood has been taken from donors who said they tested positive for AIDS or were not properly screened; and suspected transfusion-related diseases are not investigated.
Tags: Elizabeth Dole; lobbying; FDA; safety; health; embezzlement; fraud; charity; 9/11; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
-
Jennifer's Story
ABC News Primetime Thursday tells the story of 22-year-old Jennifer Rufer, who had needless hysterectomies because a pregnancy test by Abbott Laboratories gave a false reading that said Jennifer had high levels of the hormone hCG. If you have high levels of the hormone hCG, it means you're either pregnant, or, if doctors can't find a bady, that you have a rare form of cancer. The pregnancy test said Jennifer had high levels of hCG, and her doctors couldn't find a bady, so they thought she had cancer. But in reality, the test was actually faulty.
Tags: TAPE; Abbott Laboratories; pregnancy test; blood test; cancer; hysterectomy
-
Breakfast Of Champions
The New Times reports on the abuse of the hormone EPO by athletes, especially elite cyclists. EPO, made by Amgen, raises the amount of oxygen the blood can carry. There isn't any test to detect it yet because it mimics the natural human hormone too closely. The company, which makes $3 billion a year, is not taking any steps to combat the use of EPO, such as putting a marker in it that could be detected. The Tour de France and other major sporting events have been rocked by scandal related to EPO use, but still little pressure is being put on pharmaceutical companies to prevent abuse.
Tags: Tour de France; drugs; EPO; Amgen