Patricia Kime Accepts 2025 Wounded Warrior Project® Award — Small Category

Patricia Kime accepted the National Press Foundation’s inaugural Wounded Warrior Project® Award for Excellence in Coverage of Veterans in the small news organization category at NPF's Awards Dinner on March 12, 2026. Kime won for her work appearing in Military.com exposing the difficulty veterans encountered when attempting to access mental health services through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including mysteriously canceled appointments and lack of coordination with outside providers. As a result of her reporting, a bipartisan group of lawmakers called for the VA to address the shortfalls in care. “Kime’s work is the kind of journalism we need and that journalists aspire to,” said the NPF judges. “Her reporting on the VA’s challenges in providing sufficient mental health care to meet current demands clearly demonstrates her initiative: She got all the data, then found individual stories that matched that data and made the numbers relatable. When Congress began asking questions about veterans’ access to mental health, it was easy to conclude that Patricia Kime’s reporting was a catalyst.” Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) and the National Press Foundation established the Wounded Warrior Project® Award for Excellence in Coverage of Veterans to elevate the discourse around veterans’ affairs in the media. By recognizing outstanding journalism, the awards seek to inspire high-quality reporting that fosters a deeper understanding of veterans’ needs, struggles, and triumphs. NPF is solely responsible for the content. This video was produced within the Evelyn Y. Davis studios.