Eilís O'Neill
Reporter
About
Eilís is a reporter covering health. She focuses on health inequities, substance use and addiction, infectious diseases, mental health, and reproductive and maternal health.
Eilís came to KUOW in 2016. Before that, she worked as a freelance reporter, first in South America, and then in New York City. Her work has aired on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, APM’s Marketplace, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, and other programs.
Eilís' work as part of a team covering Covid-19 outbreaks and vaccine hesitation in Washington won a regional Murrow award, as did a series about children who lost parents to Covid-19. Her series about the opioid crisis on the Olympic Peninsula won several regional Society for Professional Journalists awards as well as a national Public Media Journalists Association award.
Eilís grew up in Seattle and was a high school intern at KUOW, in the program that later became RadioActive. She has a Master's in Science, Health, and Environment Reporting from Columbia University. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, Spanish
Pronouns: she/her
Stories
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After a concussion, kids’ brains need a break: from sports, bright lights, and too much homework
Washington was the first state with a law regulating when and how students can return to sports after having a concussion. Brain-injury experts say, now, lawmakers should add guidelines for when students with a concussion can return to school full-time.
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Long Covid, long wait times: patients turned away from specialty clinics turn to primary care docs
Clinics specializing in long Covid treatment have long wait times — often six months or more. Now, long Covid experts are trying to increase access to care by training the primary care providers who work in those communities how to recognize and treat the condition.
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Most pregnancy-related deaths in WA are preventable, report finds
About 100 women died in Washington state as a result of their pregnancies between 2014 and 2020, according to a new report by the state health department. The vast majority — 80% — of those deaths were preventable, the report said.
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Post-Roe, WA is a health care ‘sanctuary’ — for both patients and providers
Since abortion became illegal or severely restricted in many states, some health care providers are moving to states like Washington, where they can legally terminate pregnancies. Others are staying put and trying to help their patients get to Washington when they need or want an abortion.
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Lead or formaldehyde in your makeup? WA lawmakers want to eliminate them
Some lipsticks and foundations sold in Washington state contain lead, and some body lotions and hair products contain formaldehyde, according to the state ecology department. Lawmakers in Washington state want to change that.
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Health care providers travel to WA for abortion training they can’t get at home
Providers in training in Idaho and other states where abortion has become illegal are scrambling to get the abortion training they’d planned on. One workaround they’ve found is coming to Washington to learn.
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Tacoma woman with TB could be jailed for refusing treatment
A Tacoma woman with contagious tuberculosis is refusing to self-isolate and accept treatment, despite more than one court order mandating that she do so.
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Proposed bill would let WA naturopaths prescribe opioids, other controlled meds
Naturopathic doctors say they’re well-positioned to help address Washington’s opioid crisis and provide comprehensive health care in rural parts of the state. But they say a change in state law is needed to practice medicine to the full extent of their training.
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Washington state lawmakers again consider legalizing 'shrooms'
For the second time, the Washington State Legislature is considering legalizing psilocybin, the psychedelic drug found in magic mushrooms.
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Post Roe, men are booking vasectomies
The Dobbs ruling overturning federal abortion protections had ripple effects across the country. One we’re feeling here: More men getting vasectomies. KUOW public health reporter Eilis O’Neal explains how the shift is opening a new conversation about responsibility when it comes to contraceptives and unintended pregnancy.