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 "sickness" ...
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Meningitis Outbreak
When an unprecedented outbreak of fungal meningitis began last fall in Tennessee, The Tennessean reacted with aggressive and highly interactive coverage that has led the nation. Before other media realized the significance of the outbreak, which has sickened more than 650 people in 19 states, The Tennessean was already analyzing the regulation of specialty pharmacies and digging into the contracts and connections of the New England Compounding Center, the Massachusetts firm suspected of shipping contaminated steroids responsible for the illnesses. As of today, the outbreak has killed 40 people nationwide, 14 of them in Tennessee. More than a hundred more are still sick. We quickly reported problems associated with New England Compounding Center, lag times on informing victims and regulation slip-ups in the drug compounding industry that allowed companies to operate outside of the law.
Tags: Health; meningitis; New England Compounding Center; steroids
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Poisoned Places: Tonawanda
It's difficult to definitively link any one person's illness to air pollution from a particular plant. But the concerns about the health effects of Tonawanda Coke's toxic pollution rallied a small group of people in Tonawanda -- most of them sick -- to force complacent regulators to clean up the air. The case highlights the risks posed to communities around the country by an environmental regulatory system that largely entrusts companies to voluntarily disclose how much toxic pollution they emit and that can take years to act once violations are discovered.
Tags: air pollution; toxic emission; Tonawanda; Coke; health effects;
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When Immunity Fails: Whooping Cough Epidemic
KPBS and the Watchdog Institute investigated the whooping cough outbreak of 2010 that sickened thousands of people across the country and killed 23. This investigation contributed to the launch of new studies on the disease.
Tags: whooping cough; immunization; sickness; babies; vaccination; pertussis
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"Greed v. Guardianship"
This investigation reveals serious flaws in the Maricopa County Probate Court. Families have complained of being "violated" by their court appointed guardian, which was most often the Sun Valley Group. Families accused SVG of taking control of their finances, selling anything of value and keeping the money. Some were even kept from visiting sick loved ones who had been placed in care facilities.
Tags: Sun Valley Group; probate court; Maricopa County; Arizona Supreme Court; public records; court documents; guardianship
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Puppy Pipeline
The Post tracked a puppy mill pipeline stretching from the Ozarks to South Florida, one that brought thousands of sometimes-sick puppies from mass-operations to local pet stores. At least 2,500 puppies were delivered to Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties from out-of-states breeders in an 11-month period. Roughly one in three of those came from breeders or distributors cited for problems by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees wholesale dog breeding. Citations varied from keeping animals in too-small and rusting cages with exposed nails or wires, to caked feces, to infestations of roaches and other insects that covered the walls and ceilings of kennels. In dozens of cases, kennel owners averted USDA inspection entirely.
Tags: puppy mill; puppies; USDA; dog breeder; breeding; Department of Agriculture; animal mistreatment
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"Big payout, little oversight at NEIU"
After receiving a tip from a member of the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit (NEIU) board, reporter Sarah Hofius Hall began investigating the retirement of Fred Rosetti, former executive director of the NEIU. She revealed that the board "blindly and quietly" removed caps on accrued vacation and sick days, which meant Rosetti would have received slightly more than half a million dollars in payouts upon retirement.
Tags: NEIU; payouts; right-to-know request; Abington Heights; Alvin Hollister; vacation days; sick leave; Italy
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Benefits Denied
This series reveals the “shameful failing of both the state and federal government in living up to its promises to both Indiana’s most vulnerable and it’s most brave”. The story began when a “1.3 billion dollar state welfare contract” was cancelled and “new federal directives were sent to every V.A. office nationwide”. Further, when people were sick and turning to the V.A. for help, their requests were denied.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs; medical care; Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA); support; military; soldiers; agencies
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What's in your burger?
This story revealed how a number of restaurants aren’t following health code guidelines. These violations include not using gloves, not cooking at correct temperatures, no mouth guards at buffets, no sanitizer in rag buckets, dirty restrooms, no dates on food in the refrigerator, and storing food where it is subject to contamination.
Tags: health inspection; records; Cedar City; food; sickness; food protection code; Public Health Department; home-owned; chains; privately owned
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Night Fire: Big Oil, Poison Air, And Margie Ricahrd's Fight to Save Her Town
"Night Fire describes how a four-street, all-black community in Norco, Louisiana challenged the world's second biggest oil company, Shell Oil, over a series of deadly plant explosions and recurring sicknesses in their neighborhood."
Tags: oil; explosions; pollution; toxic; air; black; Norco; Shell; Margie Richard; poison;
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The Social Security backlog
A four-part, multi-article series examined the backlog of social security cases, particularly in the Portland, Ore. area. When presented with the findings, Social Security top official Commissioner Michael J. Astrue acknowledged the backlog of disability claims has gone "seriously in the wrong direction." The reporters found that most people who fight for Social Security benefits after being initially denied with their cases, but the average wait for a disability hearing was 512 days -- 669 days in the Portland office. The series highlighted that the system was particularly hard on veterans as well. Also, using internal Social Security figures, the reporters determined that the agency would pay about $9 billion in benefits to people who no longer deserved them. They later found that the real cost for the failure to review disability cases was between $10 and $11 billion.
Tags: social security; veterans' care; Department of Veteran's Affairs; disability hearings; medical benefits; Freedom of Information Act