Resource Center

Stories

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 "nursing shortage" ...

  • Questionable Care

    This five-part series looked into to accidental deaths in nursing homes in the province of Manitoba, which had tripled since 2000. Series installments discussed an overview of findings, problems with bed rails, staff shortages, neglect and reactions to the findings.

    Tags: Canada; international journalism; Manitoba; nursing homes; senior citizens; health care; negelect; bed rails; staff shortages

    By Alex Freedman; Vera-Lynn Kubinec; Sarah Richter; Cecil Rosner; Justin Anders

    Canadian Broadcasting Corp. - CBC

    2008

  • Starving for care: Nursing home patients die from malnutrition

    This investigation by the Detroit News found that thousands of nursing home patients die each year because of malnutrition and dehydration. The report is based on an analysis of 9.7 million death records from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 7.5 million hospital discharges from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The News' analysis suggests that many of the deaths could have been prevented. Related stories discuss how a nurse and aide shortage imperils patients, how instances of abuse often go unreported, and how family members can curb nursing home malnutrition and find good care.

    Tags: nursing homes; elderly care; malnutrition; nursing shortage; computer-assisted reporting

    By Brad Heath

    Detroit News

    2004

  • Nursing Home: Frail and Forgotten

    The Kansas City Star investigates eleven nursing homes in the area with a high number of serious violations for harming residents or jeopardizing their safety. Using a database of cases of safety violation in the nursing homes and comparing them with nursing homes in Kansas state, Mike Casey analyzes few of the best nursing homes in these two states. He also looked at why some of these problems arise in these nursing homes including shortage of staff and poor training.

    Tags: nursing homes; deaths in nursing homes; injuries in nursing homes; safety violation in nursing homes; nursing homes in Kansas City; nursing homes in Missouri; nursing homes in Kansas

    By Mike Casey

    Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

    2004

  • How safe is your hospital?

    In one of the largest studies ever of hospital experiences, more than 21,000 Consumer Reports readers rated the care they or a relative received during a recent hospital stay. Using survey results, augmented by dozens of interviews with patients, providers, and hospital quality researchers, the article helped consumers improve the odds of a good outcome by telling them how to choose the best hospital and what to do to cope with the ongoing shortage of nurses and support personnel.

    Tags: hospitals; medicine

    By Nancy Metcall;Amanda Walker

    Consumer Reports

    2003

  • Trouble in the ER

    National Journal reports that "a shortage of nurses and inpatient beds is straining emergency rooms. Congress may be forced to respond."

    Tags: ER; emergency medicine; hospitals; emergency rooms; nursing shortage; Congress

    By Marilyn Werber Serafini

    National Journal

    2001

  • Will Your ER Be There For You?

    The Plain Dealer reports on how hospitals in Greater Cleveland are shutting out ambulances, and justifying the so-called "diversion" with nursing shortages and the closings of two big hospitals in the area. A database created from handwritten logs kept by emergency dispatchers reveals that in fact, "logjams ... coincided with hospitals' lucrative surgery schedules." The diversion problem has hit inner-city and low-income residents the worst. Some are forced to travel long distance to suburban emergency rooms.

    Tags: Ohio Public Records Act; doctors; hospitals; CAR; surgery; ambulances; health care; rescue squads

    By Diane Solov;Regina McEnery

    Cleveland Plain Dealer

    2001

  • Labor Movement: Shortage of Nurses Hits Hardest Where They are Needed the Most

    The Wall Street Journal reports on the shortage of nurses in Ghana, Africa. "More than 500 left the country last year, most to take higher-paying jobs in wealthy countries. Nurses in Ghana, a poor country, earn about $75 a month. Last year's departures were nearly triple the 1999 total and more than double the number of nursing graduates Ghana produced in 2000." Furthermore, "the global flow of nurses, from poor to rich lands, reflects the way talent today goes to the highest bidder, regardless of national borders. This rewards talented people, of course, but adds to the problems of health-care systems in many poor nations."

    Tags: nurses; medical; American Nurses Association; recruiters; hospitals; earnings; doctors; health care

    By G. Pascal Zachary

    Wall Street Journal (New York)

    2001

  • Lives at Risk: An Emergency Room Investigation

    A WFAA-TV investigation of the county hospital in Fort Worth reveals that the medical staff there "knew needless mistakes and staffing shortages were allowing patients to die inside the emergency room. Some doctors and nurses had even begun to covertly copy patients' charts, not wanting a record of the errors and staffing problems to disappear." The WFAA-TV spent two months researching these doctors and nurses claims, and found serious problems at the hospital.

    Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; Fort Worth; doctors; county hopsitals; health care; Texas

    By Valeri Williams;Meridith Schucker;Jesus Hernandez;WFAA-TV Photo Staff

    WFAA-TV (Dallas)

    2000

  • No Nurse Today

    The story focuses on the shortage of nurses in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The largest district in the country has one of the most inadequate ratios of students to nursing days in the nation.

    Tags: audio tape; health care; children

    By Gail Eichenthal

    KNX Radio (Los Angeles)

    1997

  • No title (id: 6615)

    Dallas Morning News examines medical care for federal prisoners; finds a virtually unregulated system plagued by overcrowding and a shortage of physicians and nurses, June 25 - 30, 1989.

    Tags: Talley TX

    By None

    Dallas Morning News

    1989