Former Globe and Mail reporter Lisa Priest.Moe Doiron/The Globe and Mail
Former Globe and Mail reporter Lisa Priest has won a Canadian Medical Association award for excellence in health reporting.
Ms. Priest and Globe and Mail photographer Moe Doiron spent 21/2 months in the critical-care unit at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital last year. Her story, End of Life, chronicled the cases of four patients and their families as they grappled with often difficult and painful decisions.
Her reporting looked at the consequences of high-tech interventions, asking when treatment that can prolong life becomes too much for the frail body it is keeping alive, and who should be responsible for the painful decision to withdraw life support.
The piece ran on Nov. 26, 2011, and was part of a series on end-of-life options and decisions. The story netted Ms. Priest the CMA's 2012 Michelle Lang Award for Excellence in Print Reporting for an in-depth feature article, sponsored by The College of Family Physicians of Canada.
This is not the first time Ms. Priest's reporting has been selected for a CMA Media award. In 2011, she and The Globe and Mail's Karen Howlett won for excellence in print reporting for a story called The Too Small Tumour. Ms. Priest, The Globe and Mail's former health reporter, was also honoured in 2006 and twice in 2008.
The CMA Media Awards focus on reporting that enhances Canadians' understanding of health, health-care providers and the health-care system. Winners are selected by independent panels of people with a background in journalism, medicine and health care, and awards are granted in 11 categories, including digital media, international health reporting, and health reporting for radio, print and television.
The awards will be handed out at a gala on Oct. 17 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.