reporter
I am Merdies Hayes, born and reared in Los Angeles. I have worked in journalism and public relations for 38 years making stops at a number of local publications and firms. Attended Pepperdine University and Cal State Los Angeles studying journalism and English literature respectively. It is a privilege to attend the Center for Health Journalism Fellowship and I trust that what I learn can be carried through my future projects.
I’m writing this after six months of research, drafts and rewrites for my fellowship series about a new California health program called CalAIM, or California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal....
A life fraught with constant change and uncertainty.
A life fraught with constant change and uncertainty.
High hopes for new Medi-Cal expansion - Part one
A reporter explores the urgency in Los Angeles to address the issue of mental illness among the homeless population, including a major new statewide Medicaid program called CalAIM.
Access to medical care in all of America’s inner cities is a pressing need, particularly in light of possible drastic changes to Medicare and Medicaid.
Officials at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Watts are trying to remedy that situation by focusing on preventative health.
This article was produced as a project for the USC Center for Health Journalism’s California Fellowship.
Can a revamped community hospital overcome a history of dysfunction and place residents of South Los Angeles on a path to better health and lower rates of chronic disease?
