Christopher Rowland

Washington, D.C.

Business reporter focused on the health-care economy's impacts on consumer finances, health and safety

Education: University of Arizona, BS in Journalism

Christopher Rowland reports on the business of health care for The Washington Post, which he joined in 2018. His coverage has included the race to manufacture coronavirus vaccine, alleged fraud in Medicare Advantage insurance and high costs and health and safety hazards for seniors in the long-term care system. He previously worked at The Boston Globe, covering the pharmaceutical industry and large hospital networks, then overseeing Massachusetts and Boston politics coverage as political editor and later leading national political coverage and enterprise reporting for nearly a decade as the Gl
Latest from Christopher Rowland

Biden administration imposes first-ever staff minimum for nursing homes

Over industry opposition, the administration set a minimum staff level for nursing in a bid to curb neglect

April 22, 2024
A resident’s room at Good Samaritan Society Nursing Home in Bismarck, N.D.

Assisted living managers say an algorithm prevented hiring enough staff

The nation’s largest assisted-living chain uses a staffing algorithm; some managers say they quit or were fired after they complained it left facilities dangerously short-handed.

April 1, 2024

Health-care hack spreads pain across hospitals and doctors nationwide

One of the most serious cyberattacks to hit the health-care system in U.S. history is threatening the solvency of some hospitals, officials say.

March 3, 2024
Part of the UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s campus in Minnetonka, Minn., seen in 2012.

Senators challenge assisted living industry over wandering deaths, poor care

Senators say they are disturbed by walkway deaths and understaffing at costly assisted-living facilities, a pattern revealed by a recent Post investigation.

January 25, 2024
Franklin Terrace Apartments, a senior living facility in Southfield, Mich., on Nov. 14.

Senate to examine walkaway deaths in assisted-living facilities

The Senate Special Committee on Aging is demanding answers from the industry after The Washington Post detailed nearly 100 preventable walkaway deaths across the country.

January 16, 2024
Resident Mary Jo Staub froze to death in February 2022 outside Balfour at Lavender Farms, an assisted-living facility in Louisville, Colo.

    One day, he was safe in a nursing home. The next, he was homeless.

    His story shows how a few bad life turns can send Americans — even vulnerable elderly people with dementia — into the streets.

    December 21, 2023

    Assisted living chat: Is a 10% increase per year typical?

    Reporters who investigated deadly walkaways at assisted-living facilities answered questions from readers Tuesday.

    December 19, 2023

    Understaffed and neglected: How real estate investors reshaped assisted living

    A woman’s death at a high-end Colorado home shows how a focus on profits in the $34 billion industry affects staffing and pay, endangering elderly residents.

    December 17, 2023

    Dozens of assisted-living residents died after wandering away unnoticed

    Since 2018, more than 2,000 people have wandered away from assisted-living and memory-care facilities, according to The Post’s investigation. Nearly 100 have died.

    December 17, 2023

    Nursing homes face minimum staff rule for first time

    The rules are a response to decades of complaints about neglect and abuse in an industry that critics say is unprepared for the tsunami of seniors heading its way from the baby boom.

    September 1, 2023
    Mary Claire Lane, 86, left, a resident at Hellenic Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canton, Mass., is greeted by her daughter Anne Darling of Attleboro, Mass., center, during a visit on March 18, 2021.