The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation recognized Nichole Manna, staff reporter for The Tributary, for her investigative reporting on medical neglect at the Duval County jail.
The foundation’s independent judges awarded Manna an honorable mention in its Investigative and General Reporting category, which included finalists from The Washington Post, The Tampa Bay Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
The NIHCM Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to transforming health care through evidence and collaboration.
“We created the awards to recognize and encourage journalists and researchers as they play a vital role in improving health care in America,” said Nancy Chockley, founding president and CEO of NIHCM. “Having given more than $1.2 million thus far, the extraordinary quality of the entries we see each year only increases our ongoing commitment to advancing the work of top health journalists and researchers.”
The awards, in their 30th year, had a field of 460 entries. The foundation hailed the work of the journalism winners, which, in addition to Manna’s investigation, revealed new climate-related health risks using pioneering data techniques, charted the impact of artificial intelligence on health care, uncovered misconduct in medical research and documented the deeply personal effects of dramatic changes in women’s health care.
“Nichole combined data, documents and heart-wrenching narratives to reveal that deaths in Jacksonville’s jails tripled after privatizing its health care, prompting the city to cancel a $98-million contract with Armor Correctional Health and sparking state and federal investigations,” said Andrew Pantazi, editor of The Tributary. “These stories showcase the power of diligent reporting to effect change.”
You can read all of Nichole’s jail reporting at jaxtrib.org.