Author

Laura Ungar

Laura Ungar has been a journalist for nearly three decades, including for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, USA Today, the Hartford Courant in Connecticut and The News Journal in Delaware. She has covered health for more than half her career, writing about issues ranging from cancer disparities to lead in water to the largest HIV outbreak in rural America.

Health

Five Years Later, HIV-Hit Town Rebounds, But Nation Slow To Heed Lessons

Laura Ungar Feb 19, 2020

Ethan Howard is a musician who tested positive for HIV in 2015 as part of an outbreak centered around Austin, Indiana. Photo credit: Luke Sharrett, Kaiser Health News. AUSTIN, IN - Ethan Howard cradled his prized Martin-brand guitar,…

Health

Battling The Bullets From The Operating Room To The Community

Laura Ungar Dec 12, 2019

Dr. Laurie Punch (center), a trauma surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, shows Melissa Woeppel (left) and Stan Schloesser how to apply a tourniquet during a Stop the Bleed class last month in St. Louis. Punch is on a mission to stop the…

Health

Cocaine-Related Deaths Hit Black America Hardest As Death Tolls Rise From Tainted Drug; Ohio Has…

Laura Ungar Nov 25, 2019

Cincinnati resident Gwendolyn Barton, 62, smoked crack cocaine and used other drugs for about 20 years before getting sober in 2008. Photo credit: Meg Vogel For KHN. CINCINNATI — A pain pill prescription for nerve damage revived…

Finance

Grief Grew Into A Mental Health Crisis And A $21,634 Hospital Bill

Laura Ungar Oct 31, 2019

Arline Feilen’s husband died in 2013, followed by her father three years later. After her mom passed away earlier this year, she “crumbled,” she says. Her mental health crisis landed her in the hospital for five nights, yet her health…

Business

The Deep Divide: State Borders Create Medicaid Haves And Have-Nots

Laura Ungar Oct 2, 2019

A few years ago, Patricia Powers briefly thought about moving from her home in St. Louis County, Mo., across the river into Illinois ― for Medicaid. “You ask yourself: Where do you go? What do you do?” After years without health…

Education

Back To School 2019: Backpack, Lunchbox And A Drug Test

Laura Ungar Sep 5, 2019

The latest School Health Policies and Practices Study shows that a declining number of districts require elementary schools to teach drug and alcohol prevention, have arrangements with off-site organizations to provide drug treatment and…

Health

Sobering Up: In An Alcohol-Soaked Nation, More Seek Booze-Free Social Spaces with National Trend of…

Laura Ungar Jul 8, 2019

A national trend of boozeless bars is cropping up nationwide to create social spaces without the hangovers, DUIs and alcoholism culture. It’s part of a new push for sober options. File photo: Pixabay. ST. LOUIS — Not far from the…