Drew Hawkins
Health Equity Reporter, Gulf States NewsroomDrew Hawkins is the health equity reporter for the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration among public radio stations in Louisiana (WWNO and WRKF), Alabama (WBHM) and Mississippi (MPB-Mississippi Public Broadcasting) and NPR. He covers stories related to health care access and outcomes across the region, with a focus on the social factors that drive disparities.
Before joining the team, Drew freelanced for multiple outlets including The Guardian, Scalawag Magazine, Louisiana Illuminator, Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, LitHub, and others.
Drew was born in Lafayette, grew up in LaPlace and moved to Ponchatoula after Katrina. He studied creative writing at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), and earned degrees at LSU in Baton Rouge. In short, he is a proud product of South Louisiana.
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The new state program— the first of its kind in the U.S. — will give $280,000 from opioid settlement funding to grandparents raising their grandchildren. -
August is National Breastfeeding Month, but the Gulf South has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the country. Advocates are trying to change that. -
Notable weather events are known by their names. Take Hurricane Sandy or the Thomas Fire. But what about heat waves? We hear from scientists advocating for names in an effort to save lives.
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A new "scorecard" from the Commonwealth Fund on women's health care ranks Louisiana 37th in the U.S. — the highest in the Gulf South region. -
The week-long, free program gives medical professionals tools to provide trauma-informed care — and potentially help with prosecutions. -
As heat waves and heat domes become more intense, the idea of naming extreme heat as we do with other major disasters is gaining traction with some experts. -
Playing outside can now become dangerous as climate change fuels longer and more intense heat waves. Camps in Louisiana are making adjustments to deal with higher temperatures this summer.
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Driven by climate change, extreme temperatures are forcing parents and camp counselors to change their summer routines to keep kids safe. -
A new report finds that the South leads the U.S. in increased ACA Marketplace enrollment — especially in states that have not expanded Medicaid. -
GSN reporters reflect on a year of the Utility Bill of the Month series investigating missing, expensive and just wrong water and power bills in the region.
