Christina Jewett

Christina Jewett was a senior correspondent for KFF Health News until November 2021.

@by_cjewett

Trump Administration Uses Wartime Powers To Be First In Line On Medical Supplies

KFF Health News Original

As states scour the world for masks and other protective medical equipment, the federal government has repeatedly invoked a little-known clause in the Defense Production Act to step to the front of the line for sought-after health supplies.

‘Red Dawn Breaking Bad’: Officials Warned About Safety Gear Shortfall Early On, Emails Show

KFF Health News Original

As President Donald Trump called the nation “in good shape” to handle COVID-19, a cache of emails released by officials in Washington state show that top public health authorities feared gear shortages and doctor safety in the early epicenter of sickness and deaths.

Hospital Suppliers Take To The Skies To Combat Dire Shortages Of COVID-19 Gear

KFF Health News Original

As the coronavirus sweeps the nation, a new survey reveals widespread medical gear shortages while hospitals give up on a fractured supply chain and take matters into their own hands with planes sprinting past cargo ships.

As Coronavirus Testing Gears Up, Specialized Swabs Running Out

KFF Health News Original

Nationwide, testing for coronavirus is ramping up. But the supply of specialty swabs needed to collect potential coronavirus specimens can’t keep up with demand, creating a bottleneck in testing capabilities. So two top manufacturers are working with U.S. and Italian governments to increase production.

Hidden FDA Reports Detail Harm Caused By Scores Of Medical Devices

KFF Health News Original

The Food and Drug Administration has let medical device companies file reports of injuries and malfunctions outside a widely scrutinized public database, leaving doctors and medical sleuths in the dark.

Despite Red Flags At Surgery Centers, Overseers Award Gold Seals

KFF Health News Original

A decade ago, California stopped licensing surgery centers and then gave approval power to private accreditors that are commonly paid by the same centers they inspect. That system of oversight has created a troubling legacy of laxity, a Kaiser Health News investigation finds.

Lax Oversight Leaves Surgery Center Regulators And Patients In The Dark

KFF Health News Original

A Kaiser Health News and USA Today Network investigation finds that a hodgepodge of state rules governing outpatient centers allow some deaths and serious injuries to go unexamined. And no rule stops a doctor exiled by a hospital for misconduct from opening a surgery center down the street.