series of articles he wrote on end-of-life care, telling the stories of terminally ill patients who wished to die with dignity. As a result of his work leading up to his Pulitzer Prize win, Vitez wrote Final Choices, a book, based on his award-winning articles, focusing on individuals in pursuit of a noble death that was published in 1997. Vitez noted that he tries "to celebrate ordinary people around us by showing how ordinary people sometimes do extraordinary things." In November 2006, Vitez published Rocky Stories, a collection of stories about people who came to Philadelphia to run the famous Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The book features glossy, color photos by Inquirer photographer and fellow Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Gralish, and an introduction by the star of the Rocky movies, Sylvester Stallone. His focus on end-of-life care continued, and Vitez was granted access, for 18-months, to Abington Memorial Hospital, in Pennsylvania. in 2010, Vitez wrote a story about palliative care, "A look at the New Field of Palliative Care." His second article, "One 's Simple Measure to Defeat Infections," described how a simple hand-washing campaign, could save lives and prevent needless infections. In 2015, Vitez left the Inquirer to serve as the Director of Narrative Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. He also teaches elective courses at the university. Bibliography Final Coices: Seeking the Good Death, Camino Books, 1997. Rocky Stories: Tales of Love, Hope and Happiness at America's Most Famous Steps, Paul Dry Books, 2006. The Road Back: A Journey of Grace and Grit, CreateSpace Publishing Platform, 2012. Great Americans: Stories of Resilience and Joy in Everyday Life, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. Awards and recognition 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism, with photographers April Saul and Ron Cortez, for his series on end-of-life care. 1997 Excellence in Media Award, by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. 2008 Finalist for the Vigoda Award. 2010 Honorable Mention, Barlett & Steele Awards, for "Inside the Health-Care Crucible: Reports from a Hospital in a time of Upheaval." 2015 Best Journalism of 2015, by SI.com, for his story, "Emerging from a tragic, battered childhood, hope, in a college future." References External links Michael Vitez on Terri Schiavo American male journalists The Philadelphia Inquirer people Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners American non-fiction writers American columnists University of Virginia alumni University of