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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Seattle plans to send more mental health specialists to 911 calls
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More people die on south Seattle streets, where wide streets encourage fast driving
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No more lead in your eyeliner: New Washington state law bans toxic cosmetics
A new state law aims to get cosmetics with certain chemicals out of Washington’s stores and salons. Advocates say it’s the strongest law of its kind in the country.
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Surgeon general warns Seattle audience about the dangers of loneliness and isolation
U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy was in Seattle Wednesday, where he told an audience that loneliness is one of the crucial public health issues of the day.
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Low-income families in Washington can get free air conditioning, but time is running out
This summer could be a scorcher in Washington. Low-income families in the state have about a month left to get free air conditioning units.
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Seattle just got 150 psych unit beds. Is it enough to make a difference?
A new psychiatric unit opened Wednesday at the University of Washington’s Northwest Hospital in North Seattle. It was funded in part by state taxpayers, and it represents a significant step toward addressing the severe shortage of inpatient beds in Washington state.
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Drug use in Washington state is changing. More people are smoking and when they look for help, it’s hard to find
A survey of people with substance use disorder across Washington state found that, these days, more people are smoking drugs than injecting them, many people are using both opioids and methamphetamines, and many of those who seek help reducing their drug use are unable to get that help.
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Washington state hospitals are still losing money, leading to 'heartbreaking decisions'
Hospitals in Washington state are still losing money, a downward trend that started during the pandemic. And as they try to cut costs, patients are seeing the effects.
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King Country searches for ways to save public health clinics from the budget ax
Most of King County’s 10 public health centers will have to close next year unless the county comes up with a budget fix soon.
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Half of WA’s undocumented immigrants are uninsured. For the first time, the state marketplace is open to them
Roughly 50% of undocumented immigrants don't have health insurance. This month, Washington became the first state to open its insurance marketplace to all undocumented immigrants. Those below a certain income will even be able to get state subsidies to help pay the insurance premiums.
