Kathy Ritchie

Kathy Ritchie's picture
Senior Field Correspondent - Tempe

Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets -- nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.

Most recently, she was the health and caregiving editor at Next Avenue, a national digital publication geared toward people 50-plus. While there, she oversaw a team of contributors, identified opportunities for new feature stories and series, and oversaw the completion of the 2021 John A. Hartford Foundation grant, one of Next Avenue’s largest active grants to date. Ritchie was also responsible for Next Avenue's 2022 series entitled Aging with Disabilities in America. Next Avenue is part of the Twin Cities PBS system.

Ritchie has spent most of her public media career in radio as a senior field correspondent at NPR member station, KJZZ in Phoenix. While there, Ritchie was responsible for the station’s largest newsroom collaboration, a 10-part series The State of Aging in the Valley. She also pitched and produced a four-part podcast, The Recovering Caregiver, based on her own personal experience with her mother who had frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and what life is like after dementia. The final episode was nominated for a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.

Her latest podcast aims to set the record straight when it comes to menopause. Period, The End (But Not Really) debuted in September 2023.

Over the years, Ritchie has reported on the challenges facing LGBT elders, the topic of aging and intimacy, senior homelessness, ambiguous loss and grief, grandfamilies, and what it means to age in our society. Many of these stories have aired on NPR’s national magazine show, Here & Now.

And throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, Ritchie reported on the myriad challenges facing families, older adults and caregivers. That work led her to create a miniseries called, Caring in Crisis, in which she documented the experiences of “the helpers.”

Besides her professional experience in the aging space, Ritchie wrote about her mother’s journey living with dementia in a blog

Ritchie got her start in television at ABC News and later at FOX News in New York City.

Title Author(s) Publication Date
LGBTQ elders are at high risk of social isolation, loneliness and suicide Kathy Ritchie Sept. 22, 2023
How supporting migrants can meet direct-care worker need Kathy Ritchie Sept. 18, 2023
Rising HOA fees, rules can be burden on older adults Kathy Ritchie Sept. 18, 2023
Disability advocate stresses importance of Hacienda HealthCare case Kathy Ritchie Sept. 15, 2023
Arizona Humane Society team returns from Maui Kathy Ritchie Sept. 8, 2023
Study: Alcohol-related deaths on rise among women Kathy Ritchie Sept. 11, 2023
AG: Older adults being targeted in bitcoin scams Kathy Ritchie Sept. 8, 2023
Nonprofits offer up to $1,200 in support per year for veteran family caregivers Kathy Ritchie Sept. 4, 2023
Medicaid program allows parents of minors to be their paid caregivers Kathy Ritchie Sept. 2, 2023
The federal government will soon dictate staffing levels at nursing homes Kathy Ritchie Sept. 3, 2023
Surge in heat deaths means medical examiner staff working more hours and additional shifts Kathy Ritchie Aug. 28, 2023
Arizona Humane Society sends rescue team to Maui Kathy Ritchie Aug. 19, 2023
Seniors Helping Seniors aims to provide care, employment Kathy Ritchie Aug. 18, 2023
This Sun City senior is making ends meet. Others on fixed incomes aren't so lucky Kathy Ritchie Aug. 16, 2023
Area Agency on Aging receive $5M to help seniors with housing costs Kathy Ritchie Aug. 14, 2023
AZ man receives long-awaited Alzheimer's drug Leqembi Kathy Ritchie Aug. 11, 2023
Hobbs, 3 lawmakers honored for Alzheimer's funding Kathy Ritchie Aug. 10, 2023
Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange must file claim by Aug. 9 Kathy Ritchie Aug. 8, 2023
Glendale celebrates being a dementia friendly community with free event Kathy Ritchie Aug. 5, 2023
Phoenix program aims to help older adults stay cool, save money Kathy Ritchie Aug. 5, 2023
Paid caregiver program is closer to becoming permanent Kathy Ritchie Aug. 4, 2023
Phoenix's only day center for homeless seniors sees toll of extreme heat Kathy Ritchie July 25, 2023
'Heat-relief respite centers' offer cool place to sleep Kathy Ritchie July 24, 2023
Homeless seniors seek respite as extreme heat continues Kathy Ritchie July 23, 2023
Alzheimer's most prevalent in Yuma County, researchers say Kathy Ritchie July 21, 2023

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