June 29, 2020 | 11:55 AM
Politics, fear keep some COVID-positive people from disclosing contacts. What’s the solution?
Some counties are leaning on trusted community messengers to improve contact tracing success.
Aneri Pattani/Spotlight PA
Aneri Pattani comes to Spotlight PA from The Philadelphia Inquirer, where she covered mental health, suicide and health disparities. Also, she helped launch a biweekly solutions-oriented series called Made in Philly aimed at engaging diverse communities. Previously, she uncovered New York City’s failure to protect children from lead poisoning as a reporter for WNYC, and exposed the abuses of Florida’s disability services system as a producer on the podcast Aftereffect. She has also been a James Reston reporting fellow at The New York Times, and reported from Liberia with columnist Nicholas Kristof. Pattani’s articles, on topics ranging from politics to crime to business, have appeared in The Boston Globe, The Texas Tribune, CNBC and The Hartford Courant. Originally from Connecticut, she graduated from Northeastern University in Boston in 2017.
Latest by Aneri Pattani/Spotlight PA
June 9, 2020 | 11:55 AM
Thousands of deaths later, Pa. finally mandates universal testing in nursing homes, but not for another month
The Wolf administration in May touted widespread testing, but its plan fell short and, as of early June, only 75 of about 1,900 facilities had done it.
June 2, 2020 | 10:35 AM
From confusion to threats, some Pa. nursing home residents aren’t getting their coronavirus stimulus checks
The reasons vary from apparent misunderstandings to facilities wrongly holding onto the $1,200 or, in one extreme case, threatening to evict residents unless they turned over the funds.
By Aneri Pattani/Spotlight PA Updated: May 22, 2020 | 9:29 am
Pa. health officials quietly alter erroneous nursing home case, death counts as providers cry foul
Provider associations said publishing erroneous data has sown panic and anger among family members, distrust among nursing home staff, and frustration for providers.
May 19, 2020 | 6:40 AM
Pa. sold nursing home testing plan as ‘universal’ and ‘radical,’ but advocates say it’s optional and insufficient
State officials opted against making testing mandatory, and some fear certain facilities won’t follow their suggestions.
May 9, 2020 | 7:45 AM
Pa. had an early plan to protect nursing home residents from the coronavirus, but never fully implemented it
Similar measures to those envisioned were later put in place, but only after widespread outbreaks were already underway.
May 1, 2020 | 4:59 PM
How Pa. plans to keep track of the coronavirus after reopening to prevent another outbreak
Health officials said they will rely on a combination of partnerships with local hospital systems, voluntary tracking technology, and federal funding to hire additional staff.
April 24, 2020 | 12:30 PM
Pa. slashed the ranks of its contact tracing nurses. Now, they are pivotal to reopening, but only a fraction remain.
For decades, they endured budget cuts, political battles, and a major state Supreme Court case. Now, when we need them most, only a skeleton crew remains.
By Aneri Pattani/Spotlight PA March 30, 2020 | 9:30 AM
Syringe exchanges deemed ‘life-sustaining’ during Pa. coronavirus shutdown, raising hopes for eventual legalization
Although technically illegal in Pennsylvania, about 20 syringe exchange programs operate across the state.
March 24, 2020 | 6:30 AM
Quarantining patients at Pa. drug treatment centers could pose risk, but many have nowhere else to go
Some people in treatment centers have nowhere to go. With recovery houses and homeless shelters closing to new entrants, alternatives are dwindling