Sharing an update on Healthbeat Atlanta

Dear Healthbeat Atlanta readers,

I wish I was introducing myself with happier news. I’m Elizabeth Green, and I lead Civic News Company, the publisher of Healthbeat. Unfortunately, this week, we are making the difficult decision to end Healthbeat’s coverage in Atlanta. 

Generous philanthropic support got this project started two years ago, and we saw a surge of community interest in response. Many of you attended our in-person events to tell the story of public health in Atlanta (our live storytelling event last fall was a highlight). The Atlanta-Journal Constitution and WABE jumped in as regular co-publishing partners. And we saw 59 instances of real-life changes to public health dialogue and decision-making in Georgia in response to our reporting in our first year. 

But unfortunately, despite all that traction, we simply can’t afford to continue our coverage.

I want to thank the incredible team that made this work possible: Rebecca Grapevine, our dogged and passionate reporter in Atlanta, and Charlene Pacenti, the editor-in-chief who launched Healthbeat into life. And I want to thank you, our readers and supporters, for following along, participating, and offering support.

Healthbeat’s impact in Atlanta includes:

• Support for nurses: Rebecca's stories about Georgia's punitive discipline for nurses facing substance use issues informed the debate in the Georgia legislature. A bill was passed this session that changed the system, allowing them to seek help without jeopardizing their licenses.

• Restoring key services: Georgia’s Fulton County Board of Health laid off 17 HIV and sexual health workers at a time when Georgia topped the U.S. in new cases of HIV. Healthbeat had the story on the layoffs and alerted other media outlets to the development, leading to the agency rehiring for most of the laid off positions. 

• Improving vaccine access: A Healthbeat investigation found that misinformation about vaccine access was circulating among staff at local clinics. Following our coverage, the county health department retrained employees and updated its public guidance.

• Elevating screening gaps: Our stories on prostate cancer screening for Black men and maternal mortality among Black women have brought national attention to underreported disparities.

Healthbeat’s reporting in New York and our national reporting continue at Healthbeat.org.

Rebecca Grapevine will share one final edition of her newsletter tomorrow. In the meantime, please join me in thanking her for her excellent reporting and steadfast dedication to the Atlanta public health community.