Cleveland Newsroom Invites Personal Healthcare Stories

The newsroom aims to highlight gratitude for local hospital staff and protect patient privacy.

Mar. 14, 2026 at 12:12pm

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Cleveland.com's newsroom is launching a new initiative to feature personal stories from readers about their experiences with the city's healthcare systems. The newsroom has worked out arrangements with local hospital networks to verify medical details while protecting patient privacy by using pseudonyms. They are specifically looking for stories that express gratitude towards the healthcare workers who provided care during life-threatening situations.

Why it matters

This project aims to shift the focus away from the typical negative news coverage around healthcare and instead highlight the positive, life-saving work being done by medical professionals in Cleveland. By sharing these personal stories, the newsroom hopes to celebrate the city's renowned healthcare systems and the dedicated staff who work tirelessly to care for the community.

The details

The newsroom received an overwhelming response to a previous column detailing the editor's own close call with the healthcare system. Readers shared vivid, emotional accounts of how local hospital teams saved their lives or the lives of their loved ones. The newsroom realized they needed to find new ways to tell these powerful stories, but had to work out arrangements with hospital systems to verify details while protecting patient privacy under federal law. After a 18-month process, they have launched a new initiative to solicit these stories from readers, with a reporter dedicated to publishing one per week if there is enough participation.

  • The newsroom began soliciting stories from readers on Monday, March 14, 2026.
  • The editor first suggested the idea for this project in a column published 18 months ago, in September 2024.

The players

Chris Quinn

The editor who wrote the original column that inspired this new initiative to feature personal healthcare stories from readers.

Karan Singh

The reporter who will be responsible for publishing one reader story per week as part of this new project, if there is enough participation.

Leila Atassi

The editor who handled the arrangements with local hospital systems to verify medical details while protecting patient privacy.

The Cleveland Clinic

One of the regional hospital systems that the newsroom has worked with to enable this new initiative.

University Hospitals

Another regional hospital system that has partnered with the newsroom on this project.

MetroHealth

The third major hospital system in the Cleveland area that is collaborating with the newsroom.

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What they’re saying

“You think things are important. That everything's so important. And then you end up here and see.”

— Unnamed patient, Recuperating patient on HBO's "The Pitt" (The Pitt)

“Yeah. That is how it works.”

— Dr. Robby, Central character on HBO's "The Pitt" (The Pitt)

What’s next

The newsroom will continue to solicit personal healthcare stories from readers and plans to publish one per week if there is enough participation.

The takeaway

This new initiative aims to shift the narrative around healthcare coverage by highlighting the life-saving work of medical professionals in Cleveland and sharing the personal, emotional experiences of patients and their families who have been impacted by the city's renowned hospital systems.