IsraelsenHartleySarah_06.0.jpeg

Sara Israelsen-Hartley

Sara Israelsen-Hartley is a special projects reporter who writes about public health issues and how they impact families. During 15 years with the Deseret News, she’s won awards for her coverage of teens and anxiety, gender-based wage inequalities, kids and technology, divorce reform, abortion legislation, addiction and recovery and crime and the judicial system. Originally from Columbia, Missouri, she lives in Bountiful with her husband, Jon, and their three rambunctious sons.

InDepth

What COVID-19 has revealed about the nursing profession

During the past three months, we talked with 35 Utah nurses from the four major health care systems in Utah and across 15 hospitals, about working in a pandemic.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

Health

How looking at an invisible gas could bring change into your home

While smoking remains the main cause of lung cancer, the second-leading cause — and the first for nonsmokers — is exposure to radon gas.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

What nursing assistants, single moms and public health experts taught me this year

The virtue of courage stood out in many of my interviews over the past 12 months. Here’s what I learned from talking with nursing assistants, single moms and public health experts.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

A second COVID-19 vaccine has been recommended for emergency use authorization

Moderna’s recommendation comes just days after Pfizer’s vaccine begins to be administered in the U.S.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

Coronavirus

Should you get the vaccine? Here are your answers, from pregnancy to allergies to breastfeeding

The CDC voted Saturday to recommend Pfizer’s emergency vaccine for all Americans age 16 and over.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

FDA recommends emergency approval for Pfizer vaccine, will seek more info on teenager use

The United States is now the fourth country to authorize a COVID-19 vaccine after an FDA committee approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Thursday.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Here’s the official word on who’s getting a COVID-19 vaccine first

Tuesday’s recommendation vote marks the next step forward for the nation.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Moderna to request emergency FDA approval for coronavirus vaccine

Two different vaccines manufactures, Pfizer and Moderna, have now applied for Emergency Use Authorizations so that their COVID-19 vaccine could be used as early as Dec. 21.

By Jeff Parrott and Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Should an educator and police officer get a vaccine before your grandmother?

While no exact timeline exists, it’s possible a vaccine could be available by December. Here’s a look at the three-tiered approach to who gets it first.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

More good news about a COVID-19 vaccine

A look at the differences between the vaccines Pfizer and Moderna are producing and what it means for you.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Utah failed to flatten the curve. Here are 2 numbers we should have been watching more closely

As of Sunday afternoon, more than 237,000 Americans have died — 659 in Utah. As striking as those numbers are, experts have long worried that a second wave of COVID-19 cases in the fall and winter would be even worse than the first.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

A look at how you might get your COVID-19 vaccine

Here’s what public health officials are doing to ensure you can access a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it’s here.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Design a radon poster, win $100

The only way to know if a home is at risk is to test it — and five Utah students whose messages are most convincing could each win $100 in the 2021 National Radon Poster Contest.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

Health

Should teachers or firefighters get a vaccine first? A look at the latest scenarios under consideration

Whose risk is riskiest? Federal public health officials weigh tough choices for prioritizing COVID-19 vaccine recipients.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Life was already challenging for student parents; COVID-19 made it much more difficult

The pandemic halted many resources that student parents need to succeed: on-campus child care centers, in-person study groups, internet access and in-person K-12 education for their kids.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Who gets a vaccine?

Americans’ reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is just as crucial as the experts’ work to create it.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Why experts say investing in child care is key to economic recovery from pandemic

Government and private sector support is needed to get parents back to work.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Did it take a pandemic for us to notice certified nursing assistants?

CNAs at nursing homes are the lowest paid and most at risk among health care workers.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Why health officials are asking Americans to spend less time with their families

If you gather for the holiday, find ways to do it safely.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Will long-term care be the same after COVID-19?

Pandemic could be the push to make improvements nursing homes have needed for years, experts say.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

A COVID-19 vaccine will be identified — then what? An expert explains

There’s a big difference between identifying a successful COVID-19 vaccine in a lab and having a licensed vaccine available in every corner pharmacy.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Pandemic panic: How stress is affecting your child’s brain and what you can do about it

Adults aren’t the only ones stressed about the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Advice from a POW that can help during a pandemic

How to stay patient during a pandemic — and why you should

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Flattening the curve: A look behind the numbers and what’s next for Utah and the nation

Health researchers expect to see signs of impact two to three weeks after interventions are put in place

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Forced to home-school for the first time? Here are 7 tips

Here’s some advice from seasoned home-schoolers for parents unexpectedly in charge of teaching their kids

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

5 businesses, 5 stories. Can they recover from the coronavirus?

Utah business owners talk about how the coronavirus is derailing their futures.

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Schools are closing because of coronavirus. Are you prepared?

Here’s how to manage being home with kids if, or when, schools close

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

What this New York Times writer thinks about smartphones, Mitt Romney and why America is stuck

A Q&A with New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat, the author of “The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success.”

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

Women are increasingly leading in high-skills jobs; so why isn’t the wage gap closing?

Women are making strides in the workplace, but a gap still remains

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley

InDepth

From deadly mines to dangerous bedrooms

How researchers discovered radon’s toxic trail

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley