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Meredith Cohn

Meredith Cohn has been covering the health beat and other beats in Baltimore for more than two decades, and was previously at The Baltimore Sun. She's a native of Maryland and is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park. She began her career at the Hagerstown Morning Herald and also spent time as a business reporter at the Virginian-Pilot and a congressional reporter at States News Service in Washington. She writes about all aspects of health and medicine, from disease outbreaks to disease cures, as well as the business of health.

Latest content by Meredith Cohn

Amanda Vlakos was found dead of an overdose in September while enrolled in PHA Healthcare, a recovery program that offered free housing.
They entered treatment. Drugs, overdoses and deaths followed.
Baltimore addiction programs draw patients with free housing while collecting millions. Some say one program—PHA Healthcare—offered little help.
Updated Dec 22, 2024
A sign reading "Deny, Defend, Depose, Health Care 4 All" hangs on an overpass on I-83 on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.
Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO unites people ... against insurance companies
The fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO has focused attention on the anger and frustrations of people around the country and in Maryland.
Dec 13, 2024
A screenshot of the Twitter/X account believed to be associated with Luigi Mangione.
What we know about Luigi Mangione’s back injury, surgery
Despite being in pain, Luigi Mangione did not complain often and was apparently not on any pain medication, a friend said.
Updated Dec 10, 2024
Faresha Sim poses for a portrait in her apartment in the Avalon on April 20, 2024. She wears a mask and gloves the majority of the time because of mold.
Mold is everywhere. Maryland may try to do something about it.
State officials could set a threshold for when mold should be considered hazardous or mandate a time frame for remediation. But without more research, Maryland’s rules likely won’t go far enough.
Dec 9, 2024
Rachel Oslund, a home inspector, demonstrates how she uses a sticky test strip to collect potential mold spores from a window sill for further testing in a lab.
Think you have mold at home? Here’s when to call in the professionals.
Here are some frequently asked questions that could help determine when your mold problem is more than just a nuisance.
Dec 9, 2024
An illustration of the Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever.
What is Legionella, the bacteria found in Baltimore office buildings?
The bacteria Legionella can be hard to pinpoint and harder to eradicate.
Dec 5, 2024
Ben Watson, who lost the ability to speak when he had surgery to remove a cancerous mass on his vocal cords, became one of several patients at Greater Baltimore Medical Center fitted with AVA Voice, a new device that is letting him speak more normally.
New technology helps people get their voices back. Marylanders are among the first to use it.
The next iteration could use AI to mimic the patient’s real voice.
Dec 2, 2024
A criminal extortion case against former top lawyer Stephen L. Snyder is also spotlighting problems at the University of Maryland Medical System.
Extortion trial could expose details about risky organ transplants at UMMS
Medical malpractice attorney Stephen L. Snyder’s extortion trial spotlights the underlying situation at UMMS that he was trying to expose.
Updated Nov 12, 2024
for subscribers
“We’re Voting Yes” signs in support of reproductive rights.
Maryland abortion amendment passes, protecting against future restrictions
Voters overwhelmingly supported a ballot measure to solidify reproductive rights in Maryland’s constitution.
Updated Nov 6, 2024
FILE - A patient is given a flu vaccine at the L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans' Community Resource Center where they were offering members and the public free flu and COVID-19 vaccines Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Lynwood, Calif. As Americans head into the late 2022 holiday season, a rapidly intensifying flu season is straining hospitals already overburdened with patients sick from other respiratory infections.
The CDC is pushing a vaccine for pneumonia — just not for the kind infecting kids
The pneumonia vaccine is now recommended for those age 50 and older, down from age 65.
Oct 31, 2024
From an FDA release: Enoki King Mushroom Farm of Ventura, CA is recalling lot 4877 of its 5.3-ounce (150g) packages of Enoki Mushroom (Product of USA) because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Listeria, again? This time it’s in mushrooms
Enoki mushrooms are the latest food potentially contaminated with listeria, which can cause a deadly infection.
Oct 17, 2024
Victoria Richardson plays with her daughter Khalani, 1, and son Zakari, 3, who both live with her.
These kids have never done drugs. They’re still being treated for addiction.
Opioids have devastated not just individuals in the rural Cecil County, but impacted children so heavily that officials are now treating addiction as a family affair.
Oct 15, 2024
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has weighed in on the Abortion Care Access Act of 2022.
Maryland law closes a loophole in abortion care, attorney general says
Maryland is trying to eliminate an obscure rule that stopped Medicaid from paying for certain patients’ abortions.
Oct 10, 2024
One of the 3 procedure rooms at Partners in Abortion Care, a women-owned and operated abortion clinic providing abortions in all trimesters, based in College Park, Maryland.
Maryland is a safe haven for abortion care — with one obscure exception
Women who qualified for Medicaid because they are pregnant may have to foot the bill for an abortion.
Sep 30, 2024
Babies typically need to get vaccines from their doctors, but not all have COVID doses yet.
It’s germ season. But getting flu and COVID boosters for babies may take patience.
Getting children flu and COVID vaccines this fall may take patience, as pharmacists can't vaccinate babies and pediatricians don't all have doses yet.
Sep 28, 2024

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