Erin Hoover Barnett is a communications director and former journalist. She was born in Wisconsin and earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Barnett then moved to Portland, OR in 1990 and began working as a journalist at The Oregonian for 17 years, reporting primarily on medical issues. Barnett left The Oregonian in 2008 and currently serves as the Director of Communications at OHSU. In this interview, Barnett discusses her career covering the medical beat for The Oregonian, giving particular focus to her coverage of end of life care, including the popularization of hospice care and the 1994 passage of the Death with Dignity Act in Oregon. She also speaks about her article on Oregon's assisted suicide patient Patrick Metheny, which stoked some controversy among Death with Dignity advocates.