STAT Keeps 'Health Care' Two Words, Defying AP
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- Associated Press Stylebook announced it is embracing "healthcare" as one word, ending decades of styling the term as two separate words
- The change was debuted at ACES, a conference of editors, where attendees cheered and a commotion broke out over the announcement
- Sarah Mupo, STAT's director of editorial operations and keeper of its style guide, discussed the decision on the "First Opinion Podcast," noting her immediate reaction was to ask what STAT would do
- STAT generally follows AP style but chose to keep "health care" as two words, citing the term's status as a "cornerstone" of its coverage
- Mupo framed the decision as significant, saying a single space can carry substantial meaning in health journalism
Why it matters: AP's stylebook is the dominant reference for English-language newsrooms, so STAT's deliberate divergence signals that the outlet prioritizes its own health-mission framing over style conformity — a small but symbolic break that could prompt other health-focused publications to reconsider their own conventions for the term.
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