Three Kentucky journalists among 12 chosen in six-state region for Health Journalism Fellowship program

Three Kentucky journalists have been chosen by the Association of Health Care Journalists to participate in the 2017-18 Regional Health Journalism Fellowship program, including Melissa Patrick of Kentucky Health News, Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal and Lisa Gillespie of WFPL in Louisville.

They are three of 12 journalists in the mid-Atlantic region, defined as Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, Kentucky and West Virginia.

AHCJ Executive Director Len Bruzzese called the fellowship one of the most important programs the association offers.

“It’s wonderful to see so many reporters and editors – with such a wide range of experience – show their passion for continuing to build their health coverage expertise,” Bruzzese said in a news release. “This is certainly a topic area in which you can never be satisfied with what you already know.”

The year-long program, supported this year by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will provide established journalists with tools to improve the depth and amount of their local health coverage. Among other things, fellows in the program will attend a health journalism conference and a rural health journalism workshop, have access to an exclusive news webinar and attend several on-site trainings, including a customized briefing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

July 11: This story was updated to reflect that a total of 12 journalist have been chosen for this fellowship.