Public Health Watch Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

From life-threatening air pollution in a houston-area community to a resurgence of black lung in appalachia and the real-world consequences of Texas's worst-in-the-nation uninsured rate, public health watch produced cutting-edge journalism on a wide range of topics in 2024. Among the highlights:* our "toxic Texas air" series revealed that levels of benzene emissions in channelview, Texas, had reached new heights, exceeding even Texas's guidelines, the weakest in the nation. The series prompted a Texas legislator to introduce a tough new bill to curb pollution in the community. Phw also conducted a well-attended town hall in channelview.* our story reported that domestic violence shelters in Texas have seen a surge of pregnant women in the wake of the u.s. Supreme court's dobbs decision.* "the holdouts," a collaborative project on the uninsured, featured written and audio stories from phw and wusf, a tampa public radio station. The report re-published by outlets nationwide and aired by npr examined how Florida and other states without medicaid expansion are missing the chance to lower opioid deaths.* phw and three partners launched a revolutionary tool, fencelinedata.org, that will make it easier for community members, journalists and researchers to find information on companies that release harmful chemicals and contribute to climate change. * federal regulators finally acted on deadly silica dust in coal mines after a phw joint investigation in appalachia. Phw's story was co-published by louisville public media and mountain state spotlight.* a climate-change story portrayed how more frequent and fierce heat waves in California's san joaquin valley are taking a disproportionate toll on the elderly.* a pre-election story foreshadowed events, explaining how a donald trump presidency could jeopardize medicaid benefits for tens of millions of low-income people.* phw accelerated its efforts to report and produce an investigative serial podcast, "fumed," about the people who live in the shadows of america's chemical plants and oil refineries. The podcast was scheduled for release on major podcast platforms in early 2025. Set in channelview, Texas, in the heart of the petrochemical industry, fumed follows two unlikely activists as they risk everything to keep the san jacinto river from being overrun by massive chemical barges. We deployed audio and investigative reporters, a projects editor, producers, a data journalist, sound and web specialists, a composer and others to drive our first major audio project nearly to completion.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 72%; rating input score 72
• Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 12.4%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 25.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 83.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 38.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings