Kristian Foden-Vencil
Kristian Foden-Vencil is a veteran journalist/producer working for Oregon Public Broadcasting. He started as a cub reporter for newspapers in London, England in 1988. Then in 1991 he moved to Oregon and started freelancing. His work has appeared in publications as varied as The Oregonian, the BBC, the Salem Statesman Journal, Willamette Week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, NPR and the Voice of America. Kristian has won awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. He was embedded with the Oregon National Guard in Iraq in 2004 and now specializes in business, law, health and politics.
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Health officials hoped giving more people health insurance would curtail their use of expensive emergency rooms for routine medical care. But data from Oregon suggest their overall ER use didn't drop. -
A judge in Oregon has allowed 52-year-old Jamie Shupe, a retired Army tank mechanic, to identify as "non-binary" instead of male or female. It's widely believed to be the first such case in the U.S. -
Acupuncture and massage haven't been proven to ease pain better than drugs — and may cost more. But Oregon hopes these sorts of alternatives to pills will reduce the societal costs of opioid abuse. -
Carrying a child for someone unable to become pregnant can be a legal and ethical minefield. In Oregon, lenient laws and strict contracts have made surrogacy a more appealing option for women. -
Medicaid in Oregon now pays for medication to suppress puberty in teens who may want to change their gender. Oregon officials decided the benefits outweigh possible trade-offs of stopping puberty. -
A woman who is suing the University of Oregon for mishandling her rape case could have her own medical records used against her in court. Yes, that's legal.
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The buildings are in the tsunami zone, meaning they'd likely be washed away in the event of a massive earthquake and tsunami. Seismologists say there's a 37 percent chance of a major quake along the West Coast in the next fifty years — the kind of quake that hit Japan in 2011.
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The Oregon Health Plan just started covering the cost of reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for transgender people. Oregon joins a handful of states that provide such coverage through Medicaid. -
When patient and doctor don't speak the same language, it's not enough to have an ad hoc interpreter. You need an adult fluent in both languages — who can also cut through medical jargon. -
Oregon created a simple two-page form that has helped people exert control over their care at the end of life. A statewide database that contains the information is providing insight into what people prefer.
