Sara Simon

New here? Learn more about Spotlight PA’s nonpartisan, nonprofit reporting »

Stories by Sara Simon

In 2017, Pennsylvania had the most severe death reporting lags in the country. That's because the state was still doing much of its death registration by hand, relying on a cumbersome system of faxed paper and manual data entry.

Pa.'s failure to mandate quicker death reporting before the coronavirus fueled wild data fluctuations, mistrust

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA and Ryan Briggs and Nina Feldman of WHYY News

Sept. 24, 2020

The PCR test is the current gold-standard for detecting active coronavirus infections. Pennsylvania wants to expand the use of another, less precise test — known as an antigen test — to combat delays in getting test results.

Are antigen tests the silver bullet to Pa.’s coronavirus testing delays? Not so fast.

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

Aug. 17, 2020

Spotlight PA reporter Sara Simon breaks down some of the most pressing questions about the coronavirus in Pennsylvania.

WATCH: Answers to the most frequently asked questions about COVID-19 in Pennsylvania

by Sara Simon, Yaasmeen Piper and Kent Wilhelm of Spotlight PA

Aug. 14, 2020

Penn State officials said Thursday they never intended a student agreement regarding the coronavirus to be a waiver of the university's potential liability.

Penn State reverses course, plans to provide modified COVID-19 agreement for students

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

Aug. 13, 2020

Penn State, which plans to hold in-person classes for the fall semester, is requiring all students to sign a waiver freeing the university of any responsibility should they contract COVID-19 while on campus.

Students at Penn State forced to sign COVID-19 liability waiver to participate in fall semester

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

Aug. 12, 2020

Through a patchwork system of state health nurses, county health departments, and nonprofits, there are about 650 people currently doing contact tracing in Pennsylvania.

Pa. cancels on volunteer coronavirus contact tracers, moves to hire 1,000 paid staff

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA and Sarah Gantz of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Aug. 4, 2020

Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said transphobic remarks and actions hurt all LGBTQ Pennsylvanians.

Pa. health secretary denounces transphobic attacks: ‘Our children are watching’

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

July 28, 2020

Original illustration for data confusion story.

Death reports are still lagging. Pa. hasn’t made it easy to find out just how badly.

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

July 27, 2020

Contact tracing has been a challenge for Pennsylvania throughout the pandemic.

Citing ‘overwhelming’ spread, Pa. moves to add staff, app to trace the coronavirus

by Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PA and Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

July 24, 2020

UPMC has at times found itself at odds with state and local officials over the coronavirus.

UPMC’s claim of ‘less severe’ coronavirus strain in Pa. is not supported by science

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

July 14, 2020

While there is no evidence of intentional manipulation, the state’s coronavirus data blunders have created openings for confusion and baseless conspiracy theories.

Health officials failed to safeguard trust in Pa.’s coronavirus data, sowing confusion

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

June 17, 2020

As Philadelphia’s own public health department reported a high and rising number of deaths caused by the coronavirus, the state health department’s count for the city remained stuck at a much lower number.

Pa.’s death toll for Philadelphia lags behind city’s count, part of state’s ongoing struggle to compile timely data

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

May 2, 2020

Secretary of Health Rachel Levine appeared Sunday to explain why the state's count had risen sharply. Then the confusion began.

Pa. removes more than 200 deaths from official coronavirus count as questions mount about reporting process, data accuracy

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

April 23, 2020

Chester County Coroner Dr. Christina VandePol — seen here with office manager Patty Emmons — said her office has had two positive COVID-19 test results come back from deaths that occurred “at home or in the community.”

Pa. coroners, health department at odds over how to handle suspected coronavirus cases, potentially affecting death count

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

April 10, 2020

Many of the regulations recently loosened by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration aim to help nurses and doctors.

Pa. eases rules for health care workers, others as coronavirus crisis reveals ‘inflexibility’ in professional licensing

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

March 29, 2020

For many funeral directors, the job now is to navigate grieving families through jolted norms.

Funeral directors in Pennsylvania brace for grief as coronavirus limits services, viewings

by Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

March 18, 2020

After Pennsylvania identified widespread problems with its guardianship system, the Supreme Court established an office to oversee the implementation of 130 recommendations.

Protections for vulnerable Pa. seniors lag, reforms to guardianship system ‘stuck’

by Sara Simon

March 12, 2020

Reporters for The Caucus and Spotlight PA spent a year requesting and analyzing thousands of credit card statements and receipts for Pa. legislative campaigns to uncover examples of lavish and outlandish spending.

Poll shows wide support in Pa. for public access to government records. But the devil's in the details.

by Sara Simon

Feb. 10, 2020

Lauren Narbey, a 31-year-old certified nurse-midwife in Pittsburgh, most recently filed for a new license from a state nursing board in July and is still waiting for a response.

Pa. nurses are fed up with hold times, rude answers, and delays dealing with state licensing board

by Sara Simon

Sept. 11, 2019

Support Spotlight PA's independent reporting this Independence Day!