I’ve been feeling quite a bit of gratitude lately — especially for you, The Lund Report’s community of readers and supporters.
Last week, we were one of 205 recipients selected for a substantial grant from Press Forward, a national consortium of funders seeking to fill journalistic coverage gaps and reinvigorate local news. That follows a distinction we earned in August as a finalist in multiple categories in the national Nonprofit News Awards.
Of course, our deep thanks go to Press Forward and all our donors and subscribers/supporters, without whose contributions this work would not happen.
And I will tell you why else I’m grateful. Our ability to do original, high-quality reporting stems from a broad community of readers and of people who share an interest or passion about health care, even if they don't necessarily agree on other things. Your collective brainpower is a tremendous resource. Your focus drives our ability to dig beneath the surface. You hold us accountable, and inspire us to keep at it.
That’s a wordy way of saying: Thank you! And keep the tips and feedback coming.
With this support, our journalists have tackled challenging but important stories you could not see elsewhere: They include reports on the systemic problems that drive inequities, including in how Oregon provides care to low-income children as well as adults; the impact of the “new meth” on Oregonians and their health care system; delayed state investigations of important safety and discrimination complaints; a disturbing pattern of lawsuits, and the state’s tragic failure to stem youth overdoses or equip vulnerable young people in Oregon with adequate tools and skills to resist addiction later in life, to name a few.
"The Lund Report will continue to bear witness to the realities, inequities and changes in health care that patients, providers and we as a society are experiencing."
Driving all this is our belief that community-engaged public service reporting and debate are key to our society’s ability to course-correct and govern itself. So I’m grateful that our colleagues at the Oregon Health Forum are reinvigorated, hosting important community discussions.
In September many of you joined us to celebrate our founder, relentless muckraker Diane Lund. While she is stepping back from the board, The Lund Report will continue to bear witness to the realities, inequities and changes in health care that patients, providers and we as a society are experiencing.
We will strive for clarity and transparency to equip people with the best information possible about their health care system.
And while we will not back down, we will evolve.
Stay tuned, and stay in touch as we work to expand our efforts, diversify our reporting and better serve all the people of Oregon and southwest Washington.
And please don’t hesitate to tell your friends how they can join our community and support our work. Through Oct. 31 you can take advantage of our fall discounted rates by entering the code FALL24.