Robin Fields

After graduating from Medill, Fields was briefly an intern with WBBM-TV until becoming a staff writer and eventually senior writer at The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale.

In 2010, Fields worked as senior editor before serving as the managing editor in 2013, where she is responsible for day-to-day operations including decisions on stories to cover, supervision of projects and hiring. In a 2013 article, "From Shoe Leather to Big Data: ProPublica and the Future of Watchdog Journalism," she wrote that she was there "to represent the present and future," referring to journalists from an earlier era of investigative journalism.{{Cite web|title=From Shoe Leather to Big Data: ProPublica and the Future of Watchdog Journalism|url=https://niemanreports.org/articles/from-shoe-leather-to-big-data-propublica-and-the-future-of-watchdog-journalism/|access-date=2020-12-12|website=Nieman Reports|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Summit|first=Digital Innovators'|date=2019-03-06|title=ProPublica's managing editor Robin Fields on how the organisation approaches journalism in an age...|url=https://medium.com/@DISummit/propublicas-managing-editor-robin-fields-on-how-the-organisation-approaches-journalism-in-an-age-faa90f925501|access-date=2020-12-12|website=Medium|language=en}}

Some of the projects that Fields worked on, in cooperation with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) were made into documentaries, broadcast on the PBS investigative journalism program, Frontline. Two of the documentaries, "Cell Tower Deaths," and "The Child Cases," were nominated for the Emmy Award.{{Cite web|title=Cell Tower Deaths - Credits|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/cell-tower-deaths/credits/?|access-date=2020-12-13|website=FRONTLINE|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=The Child Cases|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/the-child-cases/?|access-date=2020-12-13|website=FRONTLINE|language=en-US}}

In 1999 Fields began work at The Los Angeles Times, first in the Orange County Office and then in 2001 moving to the Los Angeles office as a reporter in the Metro Section. During her tenure with the Times, she reported on numerous stories to include chronicling abuses at the J. Paul Getty Trust in 2005 and 2006,{{Cite web|date=2005-12-21|title=Nonprofits Panel Puts Getty on Probation|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-dec-21-me-getty21-story.html|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2006-10-03|title=State Ends Inquiry, Names Monitor for Getty Trust|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-getty3oct03-story.html|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} and the 2007 investigations into Norman Hsu's political fundraising.{{cite news

|author1=Tom Hamburger |author2=Dan Morain |author3=Robin Fields | title = Hsu thrived in 'bundling' system

| date = 2007-09-14

| access-date = 2007-09-14

| work = Los Angeles Times

| url = https://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-hsu14sep14,0,2903108.story |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071106204603/http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-hsu14sep14,0,2903108.story |archive-date = 2007-11-06}}

{{cite news

|author1=Robin Fields |author2=Chuck Neubauer |author3=Tom Hamburger | title = Clinton returning $850,000 linked to Hsu

| date = 2007-09-10

| access-date = 2007-09-10

| work = Los Angeles Times

| url = https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-hsu11sep11,1,7623157.story| archive-url = https://archive.today/20090201222254/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-hsu11sep11,1,7623157.story| url-status = dead| archive-date = 2009-02-01}}

{{cite news

|author1 = Tom Hamburger

|author2 = Robin Fields

|author3 = Chuck Neubauer

|title = Hsu is accused of Ponzi scheme

|date = 2007-09-21

|access-date = 2007-09-22

|work = Los Angeles Times

|url = http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hsu21sep21,1,3371004.story

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130103140811/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hsu21sep21,1,3371004.story

|archive-date = 2013-01-03

|url-status = dead

}}{{Cite web|date=2007-09-22|title=O.C. investors accuse fundraiser Hsu of fraud|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-22-me-hsu22-story.html|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}

Fields investigated and covered California's adult guardianship system in a series of stories from 2002 to 2007.{{Cite web|date=2005-05-12|title=Adult Caretaker Program Overworked, Underfunded|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-12-me-audit12-story.html|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2006-07-06|title=Guardianships Still Abused, Survey Finds|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-06-me-guardianship6-story.html|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last1=Fields|first1=Robin|last2=Larrubia|first2=Evelyn|last3=Leonard|first3=Jack|date=2005-11-13|title=When a Family Matter Turns Into a Business|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-conserve13nov13-story.html|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} An article published in the May/June 2006 issue of The IRE Journal, "Aging Citizens: Steep learning curve for series of stories on guardianship care for the state's elderly," by Fields and colleagues, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard, described how they discovered that hundreds of senior citizens lost the right to make their own decisions, without their consent, in the California court system. Most were assigned guardians due to health issues, primarily, dementia. They learned that the courts were so backlogged, no one was keeping track of their welfare even though it was mandated by state law. The investigation took years of gathering data in order to build a database; they examined more than 2,400 cases, in five California counties. The four-part series led to the introduction of bills to strengthen regulations, and a task force was created to study the laws that regulate conservatorship.{{Cite web|date=2007-12-13|title=Guardianship abuses draw attention in Senate|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-dec-13-na-guardian13-story.html|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=IRE Issue May/June 2006|url=https://www.ire.org/2006-3}}

In July 2008, ProPublica, a non-profit news organization, announced seven new reporters were joining the staff; Robin Fields, was among those who were named as new reporters.{{Cite news|title=More Top Reporters Joining ProPublica -- Latest Recruits Come from Leading Newspapers, Web Sites|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/06/prweb996334.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007165835/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/06/prweb996334.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2008|access-date=2020-10-29|website=PRWeb}}

While working for ProPublica, Fields, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times and other news organizations, reported on substandard care, resulting in injuries, sexual assault, and deaths, in a number of facilities under the ownership of Psychiatric Solutions, Incorporated (PSI). During the investigation, it was discovered that the company was earning nearly two-thirds of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid, maintaining a profit margin of 25%, compared to an average of 6% in other facilities, and employed one-third fewer staffers per bed in order to secure higher profits for the organization. The company was fined multiple times for safety violations, and at one facility, the federal government took the unusual step of termination from the Medicare program, withholding federal funds from one facility, for a period of over four months, and costing PSI over 1.5 million in lost revenue. PSI was still allowed to continue providing psychiatric care.{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|date=2008-11-23|title=Psychiatric care's peril and profits|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-psi23-2008nov23-story.html|access-date=2020-12-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=}}{{Cite web|last1=Jewett|first1=Christina|last2=Fields|first2=Robin|title=A teenager's distress and a psychiatric hospital's missteps|url=https://www.mcall.com/la-mew-2psisider23-2008nov23-story.html|access-date=2020-12-13|website=mcall.com}}{{Cite web|date=2010-05-09|title=Florida Regulators Stop Admissions to Manatee's Palms Youth Services - Psychiatric Solutions Inc.'s Troubles|url=https://flaglerlive.com/4140/psychiatric-solutions-manatee/|access-date=2020-12-13|website=FlaglerLive|language=en-US}}

After CEO, Joey Jacobs, replaced a management team at one facility, saying it would "continue to get better," the problems continued.{{Cite web|last=Jewett|first=Christina|title=Despite probe, problems continue at psych facility|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-riveredgefeb26-story.html|access-date=2020-12-13|website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US}} Allegations that the director and other PSI officials made material misstatements and omissions about the company finances and liabilities, in order to inflate stock prices, caused its stock prices to drop, resulting in large shareholder losses.{{Cite web|date=2010-03-02|title=Robbins Umeda LLP Announces Investigation of Psychiatric Solutions, Inc.|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100302005639/en/Robbins-Umeda-LLP-Announces-Investigation-of-Psychiatric-Solutions-Inc.|access-date=2020-12-13|website=www.businesswire.com|language=en}} As more reports were published about the problems at PSI, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) began investigations into the healthcare company, and a class action lawsuit was filed.{{Cite web|first=April|last=Wortham|title=Psychiatric Solutions subpoenaed by Justice Department|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2010/05/10/daily28.html|access-date=2020-12-13|website=www.bizjournals.com}}{{Cite web|title=Judge certifies Psych Solutions lawsuit class|url=https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/health-care/blog/20464169/judge-certifies-psych-solutions-lawsuit-class|access-date=2020-12-13|website=Nashville Post|language=en}} The company was eventually purchased by Universal Health Services, who also paid $132 million in a settlement with the DOJ and other state agencies, for violations of the False Claims Act.{{Cite web|date=2020-07-20|title=UHS—For-Profit Psych Hospital's $132 Million Payout Over DOJ & MA Fraud Investigations|url=https://www.cchrint.org/2020/07/20/uhs-for-profit-psych-hospitals-132-million-payout-over-doj-ma-fraud-investigations/|access-date=2020-12-13|website=CCHR International|language=en-US}}

After joining with ProPublica, Fields made multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). After two years of delays, Fields, now senior editor, began reporting on practices of the kidney dialysis industry.{{Cite web|last=Webb|first=Mike|title=Dialysis Conference Call Recording & Transcript with Robin Fields|url=https://www.propublica.org/podcast/dialysis-conference-call-recording-transcript-with-robin-fields?token=QZw6w_rzNRHLG_HxYZMEi8Ivo10pLQTv|access-date=2020-10-29|website=ProPublica}}{{Cite web|last=Engelberg|first=Paul Steiger,Stephen|title=Editor's Note: How We Got the Government's Secret Dialysis Data|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/editors-note-how-we-got-the-governments-secret-dialysis-data?token=x1WkMVQkYc7NIixUj9OEexcAEo4anmm4|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}

The series of stories, "Dialysis: High Costs and Hidden Perils of Treatment Guaranteed for All," was awarded the Gannett Foundation Award for Investigative Journalism.{{Cite web|date=2011-09-25|title=2011 Online Journalism Award winners announced|url=https://journalists.org/2011/09/25/2011-online-journalism-award-winners-announced/|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Online News Association|language=en-US}} The series prompted Chuck Grassley to call for an investigation into CMS, and led to a Grand Jury investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado, into DaVita Inc., the second-largest dialysis provider in the United States.{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=Sen. Grassley Demands Information on Dialysis Clinic Conditions|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/sen-grassley-demands-information-on-dialysis-clinic-conditions?token=YW5qJ0mfg-45Dmhi6RMKrQpGXfwxgh08|access-date=2020-10-29|website=ProPublica}}{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=Federal Grand Jury Probes Major Dialysis Provider|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/federal-grand-jury-probes-major-dialysis-provider?token=bwnE-YlTOLIxpRVxt4nceglepP1YkKSJ|access-date=2020-10-29|website=ProPublica}} In 2013, she described the systemic issues in American dialysis, and how the U.S. spent more money per patient than any other country, but with poorer results. In describing the beginnings of the investigation, she recalled:

{{Blockquote|text="In my initial interviews, when I asked dialysis industry insiders to describe the level of care, several called it the health-care equivalent of a factory assembly line."|author=Robin Fields|title=From Shoe Leather to Big Data: ProPublica and the Future of Watchdog Journalism|source=Nieman Reports}}

On November 9, 2010, ProPublica released a story outlining how an umbrella group, Kidney Care Partners, planned to spin the dialysis investigation; they published leaked public relations materials.{{Cite web|title=Read the Leaked P.R. Plan to Spin Our Dialysis Investigation|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/dialysis-pr-leak-the-plan-to-spin-our-investigation?token=UAmqdwJ9jl-rDCbXUOl5ZnMFbqkg5b6w|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}

A list of the articles and follow-up stories is listed below.

• Inside a Dialysis Treatment by ProPublica Nov. 9, 2010{{Cite web|title=Inside a Dialysis Treatment|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-a-dialysis-treatment?token=YW5qJ0mfg-45Dmhi6RMKrQpGXfwxgh08|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica|language=en}}
• In Dialysis, Life-Saving Care at Great Risk and Cost by Robin Fields Nov. 9, 2010{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=In Dialysis, Life-Saving Care at Great Risk and Cost|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/in-dialysis-life-saving-care-at-great-risk-and-cost|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}
• When Needles Dislodge, Dialysis Can Turn Deadly by Robin Fields Nov. 10, 2010{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=When Needles Dislodge, Dialysis Can Turn Deadly|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/when-needles-dislodge-dialysis-can-turn-deadly?token=UAmqdwJ9jl-rDCbXUOl5ZnMFbqkg5b6w|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}
• New Study Shows Higher Mortality Risk at For-Profit Dialysis Chains by Robin Fields Dec. 9, 2010{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=New Study Shows Higher Mortality Risk at For-Profit Dialysis Chains|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/new-study-shows-higher-mortality-risk-at-in-for-profit-dialysis-chains?token=-LWC0UDWQ7X23iLEOqYYQFkDs9mlu7vg|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}
• Life and Death Choices as South Africans Ration Dialysis Care by Sheri Fink Dec. 15, 2010{{Cite web|last=Fink|first=Sheri|title=Life and Death Choices as South Africans Ration Dialysis Care|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/dialysis-south-africa?token=WCD-doWU_V6bXepwtZBFxv_7huqGMEWz|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica|language=en}}
• Sen. Grassley Demands Information on Dialysis Clinic Conditions by Robin Fields Dec. 22, 2010
• Dialysis Data, Once Confidential, Shines Light on Clinic Disparities by Robin Fields Dec. 23, 2010{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=Dialysis Data, Once Confidential, Shines Light on Clinic Disparities|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/dialysis-data-once-confidential-shines-light-on-clinic-disparities?token=UAmqdwJ9jl-rDCbXUOl5ZnMFbqkg5b6w|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}
• Led by California, Inspection Backlogs Weaken Dialysis Oversight by Robin Fields Dec. 28, 2010{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=Led by California, Inspection Backlogs Weaken Dialysis Oversight|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/led-by-california-inspection-backlogs-weaken-dialysis-oversight?token=_p2p_V8iE_2nShNJw82zwdE2bbW5Y1YJ|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}
• Feds to Follow ProPublica, Release Dialysis Clinic Data by Robin Fields March 29, 2011{{Cite web|last=Fields|first=Robin|title=Feds to Follow ProPublica, Release Dialysis Clinic Data|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/feds-to-follow-propublica-release-dialysis-clinic-data?token=RiSgpmEGNdT1r3x6HH5p-33nc-c35whg|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}
• Federal Grand Jury Probes Major Dialysis Provider by Robin Fields Aug. 4, 2011
• How are the Dialysis Centers Near You?, A roundup of local coverage using data from our updated Dialysis Facility Tracker, by Minhee Cho April 2012{{Cite web|last=Cho|first=Minhee|title=How are the Dialysis Centers Near You?|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/how-are-the-dialysis-centers-near-you?token=71tqlezWYWBzRCqBzHBAk171yJBkvgpG|access-date=2020-10-30|website=ProPublica}}
• Dialysis Facility Tracker, by Robin Fields, Al Shaw, Jennifer LaFleur and Madi Alexander, ProPublica, Updated June 23, 2016{{Cite web|title=Dialysis Facility Tracker|url=https://projects.propublica.org/dialysis/|access-date=2020-10-30|website=projects.propublica.org}}

In December 2011, Fields' story titled, "God Help You, You're on Dialysis: why do one in four people on dialysis die?" was featured in The Atlantic magazine; the piece was a finalist for the Association of Magazine Media, National Magazine Award for a public interest story.{{Cite web|title=2011 National Magazine Awards Finalists: Public Interest · Longform|url=https://longform.org/posts/2011-national-magazine-awards-finalists-public-interest|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Longform|language=en}}

It wasn't until the Atlantic story was published, that CMS agreed to release data that was used to create the data tracker on the ProPublica website, set-up to assist kidney dialysis patients compare dialysis centers in order to receive the best care. As of June, 2013, the tracker had over 190,000 page views; it's updated annually and Fields considered it to be her "most significant product of [her] reporting."

• 2011 Winner Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism for the series, "Dialysis: High Costs and Hidden Perils of Treatment Guaranteed for All"
• 2011 Finalist National Magazine Awards, for "God Help You, You're on Dialysis: why do one in four people on dialysis die?"
• 2006 Winner Associated Press Managing Editors Public Service Award, for the guardianship series{{Cite news|date=27 July 2006|title=Associated Press Media Editors|url=https://www.apme.com/page/2006APMEAwards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101192611/https://www.apme.com/page/2006APMEAwards|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 1, 2020|access-date=29 October 2020}}
• 2006 Finalist Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting{{Cite web|date=2006-02-02|title=Shorenstein Center names finalists for Goldsmith Prize|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2006/02/shorenstein-center-names-finalists-for-goldsmith-prize/|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Harvard Gazette|language=en-US}}
• 2005 Winner National Journalism Awards for Investigative Reporting, for the guardianship series{{Cite web|title=Robin Fields|url=https://www.worldaffairsdesert.org/robin-fields.html|access-date=2020-10-30|website=World Affairs Council of the Desert|language=en}}
• 2005 Winner Sigma Delta Chi Public Service Award, for the guardianship series
• 1999 Winner Sunshine State Awards, South Florida Society of Professional Journalists, first place, non-deadline business reporting, for the series "How Florida Cheats Itself on Sales Tax"{{Cite web|title=Sun-Sentinel Staffers Win 26 Sunshine State Awards|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1999-05-16-9905160134-story.html|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Sun-Sentinel.com|language=en-US}}
• 1999 Second Place Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, for investigative reporting, for the series "Paved with Gold"
• 1998 Third Place Sunshine State Awards, South Florida Society of Professional Journalists, for non-deadline business reporting{{Cite web|title=Sun-Sentinel Wins 22 Journalism Awards|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1998-05-17-9805170079-story.html|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Sun-Sentinel.com|language=en-US}}

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Category:1967 births

Category:20th-century American journalists

Category:20th-century American women journalists

Category:21st-century American women

Category:Living people

Category:Medill School of Journalism alumni

Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni