Update (March 25, 2010 2:03 pm): This post has been updated with the correct dial-in info. Please call 877-554-0115. You’ll be asked to enter a conference ID number, 65104045.
Today at 2 p.m. Eastern (Thursday, March 25), ProPublica reporters Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber will host a "reporting recipe" conference call to walk you through the steps they took in their California nursing board investigation and their look at the deficient federal caregiver database.
If you would like to participate, please call 877-554-0115. You’ll be asked to enter a conference ID number, 65104045. Once on, Ornstein and Weber will provide a brief overview of the recipe and then they’ll answer questions.
If you're tweeting the call, use the hashtag #pprecipe.
If you would like to ask a question, you have two options. The best way is to send an e-mail to [email protected]. We hope that you’ll do this now in order to help guide us through the presentation and cover the key points of interest. If, however, something comes up during the call and you would like to ask a question then, follow the instructions of the conference call operator and you’ll be able to ask live, over the phone. Please note we have only an hour, so as a courtesy to everyone, please be as brief and direct as possible.
We plan to record the call for possible use in a future ProPublica podcast. If you do not want your voice used in the podcast, please submit your question via e-mail.
Ornstein and Weber’s investigations prompted major changes to California’s nursing board and the federal database article led Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to ask state governors for their immediate assistance and the reassignment of the people who oversaw the database. So we hope you’ll use their reporting recipe to take a look at the licensing agencies in your state.
During the call, Ornstein and Weber may refer to several of the articles and tools that have been posted. These include the recipe, our list of publicly available information for each state’s nursing board, our database of disciplined California nurses, our chart on state reporting of nurse disciplinary actions to the federal government and our story gallery. There is information for every state in the nation, so please take a look before the call.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone who is interested in holding a state nursing board – and licensing boards in general – accountable. See you at 2pm Eastern.