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Nicole Hayden
Health reporter
I am a health reporter for the Desert Sun in Palm Springs, California, focusing on public health issues. My 2018 USC CHJ Data Fellowship is focused on homelessness and public health. I am also a participating reporter in the USC Center for Health Journalism Reporting Collaborative project on California’s uninsured. I have worked for the USA Today Network for five years, most recently in California. Previously, I was the lead investigative reporter at the Times Herald in Michigan, where I worked on a yearlong opioid-abuse project that impacted local policy decisions. Further, I wrote many award-winning enterprise stories about homelessness and led an investigation that exposed a pastor who sexually assaulted a woman in his church.
Articles
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Starting in January, Californians will be required to sign up for health insurance or face a $695 tax penalty under the new state mandate....
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_35.jpg?itok=-uOqImov "(Photo: Vickie Connor/Desert Sun)")
Ultimately, I had no data for my data project. So, under the advice of data guru Paul Overberg of The Wall Street Journal, I created my own.
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Californians in their 50s and early 60s often face sticker shock when trying to purchase health insurance through Covered California; new subsidies expected to provide some relief
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Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in California to inform people about their eligibility for Medi-Cal. But experts are now wondering: Once people are informed, what carrots and sticks can be used to actually get them signed up?
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While efforts to expand dental insurance rarely receive the same level of attention in the state as battles over universal medical care, the health implications are significant, experts say.
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Low-wage jobs in Inland Empire’s warehouse industry leave many workers uninsured
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The Desert Sun invited community members Nora Soliz, Julie Hernandez and Greg Rodriguez to tell first-person stories about their struggles with homelessness and their successes out of it.
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Among the questions we sought to answer: How can people help those who are homeless in the Coachella Valley? How is money being spent on homeless services in the Coachella Valley? Why did Roy’s Desert Resource Center close in Palm Springs?
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The data showed that drug and behavioral health treatments are among the greatest needs in the community with the least available services in the Coachella Valley.
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Topics
The Desert Sun surveyed 200 people experiencing homelessness in the Coachella Valley about health needs and access to health care.