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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Emily Ramshaw Reporter

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Emily Ramshaw investigates state agencies and covers social services for the Tribune. Previously, she spent six years reporting for The Dallas Morning News, first in Dallas, then in Austin. In April 2009 she was named Star Reporter of the Year by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors and the Headliners Foundation of Texas. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Ramshaw received her B.A. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

eramshaw@texastribune.org
512-716-8619

Recent Contributions

Nursing a Habit

by Emily Ramshaw  |  3/17/2010  |  3

Texas nurses with substance abuse problems — including showing up to work drunk or high, stealing narcotics meant for patients, and forging doctor signatures on prescriptions for pain-killers — are often not punished for their acts for months or even years and continue to practice in the meantime, according to a Texas Tribune review of state nursing disciplinary records. One hundred seventeen nurses were punished for drug offenses over a three-month period last summer; thirty-five nurses with substance abuse problems had their licenses revoked for their actions.

Texas Lands Millions for e-Health Records

by Emily Ramshaw and Ben Philpott  |  3/15/2010

Federal officials announced more than $162 million in health information technology grants today — including $28.8 million to help the Texas Health and Human Services Commission make the switch to electronic medical records. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius described the funding, which went to 16 states as part of the federal stimulus act, in an afternoon press conference.

Disease Mismanagement?

by Emily Ramshaw  |  3/12/2010  |  1

Texas has spent tens of millions of dollars on “disease management” — phone calls and check-ins with Medicaid patients designed to control costly chronic illnesses and save money. The jury's still out on whether it worked, but the state's preparing to rebid the contract anyway.

DNA Destruction

by Emily Ramshaw  |  3/9/2010  |  1

In the weeks before state health officials incinerated more than 5 million baby blood samples that they stored without consent, privacy advocates, parents and legislators reached a last-ditch accord to save them but couldn’t convince the Department of State Health Services to sign on. A Texas Tribune investigation found that the agency had turned hundreds of such samples over to a federal Armed Forces lab to build a DNA database — and hadn’t been upfront about it with lawmakers or the public.

Surprise!

by Emily Ramshaw  |  3/4/2010  |  1

Not every race turned out the way political insiders — or the candidates themselves — anticipated. Here are a dozen primary races that defied conventional wisdom, stunned the incumbents and shocked the longshots. 

Who Won, Who Lost

by Brandi Grissom and Emily Ramshaw  |  3/3/2010

For the last two months, we've brought you news and analysis on 20 hotly contested primaries. Here's a look at who won, who lost, and who's headed for a runoff in the top legislative and congressional races.

In Closing: Farouk Shami

by Emily Ramshaw  |  3/1/2010

“I’m a positive thinker. If I wasn’t sure of winning, I would not have put my foot in,” he said in his signature bullhorn tone, pressing his BlackBerry against his ear. “Hello? Hello? You’re speaking to the governor here.” 

In Closing: The Big Five

by Brandi Grissom, Reeve Hamilton, Emily Ramshaw, Abby Rapoport and Matt Stiles  |  3/1/2010

Whether or not the outcome of tomorrow's gubernatorial primary is conclusive — whether or not we have a runoff six weeks hence — we can say this with certainty: One of the five main candidates on the ballot will be the next governor of Texas. And this: 40 hours from now, we'll know much more about the state's coming political landscape than we do today. While we bide our time and wait for results, we present these final snapshots of the campaigns as they wound down.

The Buck Stops Where?

by Emily Ramshaw  |  2/24/2010  |  3

Three of the biggest social services messes of Rick Perry's ten-year tenure — the sexual abuse scandal at the Texas Youth Commission, fight clubs at state institutions for the disabled and deaths of children on Child Protective Services’ watch — have been noticeably absent from the campaign trail. Is it because Texans don't hold him accountable for these tragedies? Or because his opponents think GOP primary voters simply don't care?

DNA Deception

by Emily Ramshaw  |  2/22/2010  |  4

When they were sued last year for storing baby blood samples without parental consent, Texas health officials said they'd done it for medical research. They never said they turned over the blood spots to the federal government to help build a vast DNA database. A Texas Tribune review of nine years' worth of e-mails and internal documents on the Department of State Health Services’ newborn blood screening program, released after the state settled the case so quickly that it never reached the discovery phase, shows an effort to limit the public’s knowledge of the program.

Day Care Danger

by Emily Ramshaw  |  2/17/2010

The Texas Workforce Commission spent nearly $50 million during the last two years on day care centers and in-home childcare providers with troubled track records — including sexual and physical abuse, kidnapping, and leaving infants to suffocate and die in their cribs. A Texas Tribune review found that at least 135 subsidized facilities had their licenses revoked or denied by the Department of Family and Protective Services in 2008 and 2009 and had their funding immediately suspended.

Blame the Whistleblower?

by Emily Ramshaw  |  2/12/2010  |  2

When a West Texas sheriff criminally charged a nurse who reported an unethical doctor to the Texas Medical Board, it sent shockwaves through the nation’s nursing community. But her acquittal has done little to calm the furor.

Audio: An Interview with Tom Leppert

by Emily Ramshaw  |  2/11/2010

Emily Ramshaw sat down with the Dallas mayor late last month.

Tom Leppert: The TT Interview

by Emily Ramshaw  |  2/11/2010

The Dallas mayor left a hugely successful private sector career to lead the country’s ninth-largest city through an economic meltdown and the aftermath of a City Hall corruption scandal. And he doesn’t regret a minute of it. Here, he talks about fighting a sky-high crime rate, how he keeps party politics from his office, and every urban area's Achilles' heel: education.

Heir Apparent

by Emily Ramshaw  |  2/3/2010

State Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, dropped her reelection bid on Wednesday to plead guilty to lying on a tax return. But it's too early for Eric Johnson, her West Dallas-born, Ivy League-educated primary opponent, to claim victory.