Kerry Klein

Kerry Klein is a health reporter for Valley Public Radio, covering air quality, drinking water, public health and other topics in California’s San Joaquin Valley. She studied science communication at UC Santa Cruz following an undergraduate degree in geology from McGill University. In addition to her work for KVPR, she’s written print and radio pieces for KQED, NPR, the San Jose Mercury News, and The Atlantic. Her radio work has earned her a 2017 first-place health policy award from the Association of Health Care Journalists, and four “Golden Mike” awards from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California. She was a California Fellow with the Center for Health Journalism in 2016.

For her 2018 Data Journalism Fellowship project, Kerry plans to explore trends in opioid use and access to treatment within the San Joaquin Valley, from some of the smallest communities to the biggest industries in the region.

Articles

What I learned reporting on an opioid crisis in a community that didn’t perceive it as a crisis

A reporter shares a handful of investigative reporting techniques that proved essential in overcoming blind spots among local health experts who were largely unaware of opioids' toll in their communities.

Environmental Health

Mental Health

Heather Menzel, who gave up heroin four years ago, is now distributing free Naloxone around her Kern River Valley community.

Children & Families

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Mental Health & Trauma

Community & Public Health

Four Years Sober, Recovering Heroin User Shifts Focus To Saving Other Lives

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Kerry Klein, a participant in the USC Center for Health Journalism's 2018 Data Fellowship....

Women's and Maternal Health

Mental Health

Community Safety

Patient Safety and Ethics

Bakersfield police officers scour a motel room where they found a small amount of methamphetamine on a dresser.

Community & Public Health

Mental Health & Trauma

To Bakersfield cops, concern for opioids grows — but meth is still king

Despite the chokehold heroin and pain pills have had on public health for years, Bakersfield cops are dealing with far more than opioids.

Environmental Health

Mental Health

Oildale Community Action Team director Dave Kadel stands with a hypodermic needle he found.

Community & Public Health

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Mental Health & Trauma

It Used To Be Kern County's Opioid Epicenter, But Oildale May Be Cleaning Up

This story is part of a series called In Recovery, about opioid addiction and treatment in the San Joaquin Valley.

Environmental Health

Mental Health

Patient Safety and Ethics

Urine testing is part of a medication-assisted opioid treatment program in Bakersfield known as Groups.

Mental Health & Trauma

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Kern County’s Opioid Users Lack Access To Much Needed Treatment

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Kerry Klein, a participant in the USC Center for Health Journalism's 2018 Data Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
It Used To Be Kern County's Opioid Epicenter, But Oildale May Be Cleaning Up

Mental Health

Can data explain the opioid crisis in California’s rural, underserved San Joaquin Valley?

The Central Valley's Kern County reported a 30 percent rise in overdose deaths from 2016 to 2017, bucking the statewide decline in fatal overdoses.

Environmental Health

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

Community Safety

Jennine Ochoa was diagnosed with valley fever when she was five months pregnant with Aidan, who was born in late August. (Photo by Kerry Klein/KVPR)

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Valley fever medication poses added risk for pregnant women

Research suggests an alarming link between a common drug used for valley fever and birth defects. The disease also tends to be more severe in pregnant women.

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

Healthcare Systems & Policy

For valley fever survivors, a growing need: wigs

The antifungal drugs used to treat valley fever can cause hair loss. With the number of valley fever cases on the rise, a wig shop in Bakersfield, Calif., is helping women feel better about themselves.

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Healthcare Systems & Policy

California budget boosts funding for valley fever

The budget includes $8 million for research and outreach into the disease, caused by inhaling spores that grow in arid soil.

Community Safety

Lemoore Army Air Field was one of four military installations in the San Joaquin Valley to become the site of intensive valley fever research during World War II. Credit: Lemoore Army Flying School Class 43B yearbook

Health Equity & Social Justice

Military’s early valley fever research still benefiting public health today

In the city of Lemoore, a community of 25,000 rising out of arid cropland in California’s San Joaquin Valley, almost everyone has a story about valley fever.

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Kerry Klein

Articles

What I learned reporting on an opioid crisis in a community that didn’t perceive it as a crisis

Four Years Sober, Recovering Heroin User Shifts Focus To Saving Other Lives

To Bakersfield cops, concern for opioids grows — but meth is still king

It Used To Be Kern County's Opioid Epicenter, But Oildale May Be Cleaning Up

Kern County’s Opioid Users Lack Access To Much Needed Treatment

Can data explain the opioid crisis in California’s rural, underserved San Joaquin Valley?

Valley fever medication poses added risk for pregnant women

For valley fever survivors, a growing need: wigs

California budget boosts funding for valley fever

Military’s early valley fever research still benefiting public health today