"We're all holding our breath": Health experts on school reopenings in Texas
The Texas Tribune spoke to experts about what the state can expect as schools and universities start school remotely or in person. Full Story
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Shannon Najmabadi
Women’s Health Reporter
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Shannon Najmabadi is the women’s health reporter at The Texas Tribune, where she started as a fellow in 2017. Her stories — on higher education and other topics — have prompted lawmakers to change three state laws, including one involving a very narrow definition of the word “pickle.” She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.
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![Desks are zip-tied and a green "Use" sticker is placed on available desks to practice social distancing in an academic hall …]()
Credit: Allie Goulding for The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials want to cut funding for women's health services while preserving an anti-abortion program
An August budget document shows funding for the anti-abortion program would be maintained, but reduced for doctors and clinics that provide reduced-cost contraception and health screenings. Full Story
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![A medical clinic in downtown Amarillo Monday.]()
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Five health experts on the state’s coronavirus data backlog
The state disclosed a backlog of more than 850,000 tests this month, which were delayed in part because of coding or formatting errors and a lengthy onboarding process needed to receive reports from laboratories. Full Story
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![A health care worker speaks to a patient at a drive-thru testing site at Exceptional Medical Plaza in Garland on June 30, 20…]()
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A South Texas chaplain prayed with his hospice patients. Then the coronavirus came for him.
The hospital where he had previously ministered to terminally ill patients was full when Adolfo Alvarado Jr. neared death in his Mission home. He was finally admitted, and his daughter watched on her laptop as he died. Full Story
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![The family members of Adolfo “Fito” Alvarado Jr. at their home in Mission.]()
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Local health authority resigns in Texas border county battered by coronavirus
Dr. Jose Vazquez resigned from his position as health authority after members of the commissioners court rejected increasing his pay from $500 a month to $10,000. Full Story
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![Rio Grande City is the county seat of Starr County.]()
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Texas lifts tampon ban at bar exam after complaints over discriminatory policy
The state’s board of law examiners said in late July that test takers will be allowed to bring feminine hygiene products in clear plastic bags with them to the grueling, multiday exam that’s needed to obtain a law license. Full Story
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![Sarah Riffel sits for her portrait in her apartment in Odessa Texas where she practices law as the cities prosecutor.]()
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These “last responders” deal with the bodies as coronavirus deaths surge in the Rio Grande Valley
Funeral homes have set up temporary morgues. Crematoriums are running overtime. Families must wait more than a week to bury their loved ones. For body couriers and funeral workers, there’s no letup in sight. Full Story
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![Juan Lopez prepares to pick up a body from a refrigerated trailer at Doctors Health at Renaissance in Edinburg on July 17, 2…]()
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Texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators and even staff
Many Texas hospitals are no longer accepting transfer patients in order to maintain space for a surge that’s expected to come. In some parts of the state, it’s already here. Full Story
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Feeding tubes, hallucinations and numb toes: One Texan’s battle to survive COVID-19
When pharmacist Frank Arredondo was wheeled on a stretcher into a South Texas ward for coronavirus patients in early April, his wife wondered if they would ever see each other again. Full Story
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![Frank Arredondo had one of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Rio Grande Valley and spent 10 days on a ventilator.]()
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“How many more are coming?” What it’s like inside hospitals as coronavirus grips Texas’ Rio Grande Valley
The surge in coronavirus cases has slammed hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley. Additional wards have opened. Doctors and nurses pull extra shifts. And the stream of sick people, some gasping for air, keeps growing. Full Story
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Supreme Court affirms abortion protections, strikes down Louisiana abortion law
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law Monday that would have curtailed access to abortions in the state. It was nearly identical to a measure the court overturned in Texas in 2016. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2020.]()
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Want a coronavirus test in Texas? You may have to wait for hours in a car.
Months into the pandemic, demand for coronavirus tests is soaring. Texans report problems with almost every facet of the testing process, starting with the glitching websites and unanswered phone lines used to schedule appointments, and extending to long lags before test results come back. Full Story
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![A line of about 100 cars formed at Barbara Jordan Elementary School in Austin while waiting at a COVID-19 testing site. June…]()
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Some Texas cities revive plans to add hospital bed capacity at convention centers if coronavirus cases climb
“The setting will be similar to a Medical-Surgical Unit with a capability of treating critical care patients," reads a description for a 100-bed site in Austin, according to an email obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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![A look inside an intensive care unit during a media tour of a medical shelter at NRG Park in Houston on April 11, 2020. The …]()
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Texas’ coronavirus positivity rate exceeds “warning flag” level Abbott set as businesses reopened
In early May, Gov. Greg Abbott pointed to the positivity rate — a ratio of positive COVID-19 tests to all tests — and said anything over 10% was cause for alarm. As of Wednesday, Texas exceeded that mark for the first time since April. Full Story
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![A health care worker takes a patient's information at an Austin Regional Clinic COVID-19 testing site on June 17, 2020.]()
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Coronavirus patients crowd some Texas ICUs as Gov. Greg Abbott touts "abundant" hospital capacity
Regionally, some hospital officials are reporting that intensive care units are near or over capacity, and local leaders have warned that hospitals could get overwhelmed if the number of infections keeps climbing. Full Story
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![One of two surgical suites at Eastland Memorial Hospital.]()
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Texas is heading down a dangerous path, local leaders warn as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge
When Gov. Greg Abbott let businesses start reopening, he pointed to two metrics as encouraging signs: the hospitalization rate and the infection rate. Both of those metrics are on the rise in Texas. Full Story
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![COVID-19 test samples are organized into coolers at a mobile testing site at Uhland Elementary School in Uhland on June 18, …]()
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Outside of Texas' big cities, some are still waiting nearly a month for coronavirus test results from state-run mobile units
While many county leaders were grateful that Texas deployed coronavirus testing resources in their communities, others complained of a chaotic planning process and test results delayed for weeks. Full Story
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![Soldiers with the Texas National Guard work at a drive-through COVID-19 testing center in Smithville on May 5, 2020.]()
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Number of Texans hospitalized with coronavirus hits all-time high as experts say cases are likely to continue increasing
The figures come a little more than a month since Gov. Greg Abbott's stay-at-home order expired and about two weeks after Memorial Day. Full Story
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![Exterior of St. David's Medical Center in Austin on March 19, 2020.]()
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Texas has spent more than $200 million on personal protective equipment orders to combat coronavirus
The state has issued purchase orders totaling $1.1 billion for protective equipment, but orders for $638 million worth of items have been canceled. Full Story
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![An attendee looks through different types of hoods during a personal protection equipment training session in Houston on Mar…]()
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As coronavirus hits Texas, the state's top health official is spending 30 hours a week on a second job — that pays $600,000
Acting Executive Commissioner Phil Wilson chose not to accept salary and benefits for a temporary position leading one of Texas’ largest and most high-profile agencies. Instead, he continues to earn $636,694 from the Lower Colorado River Authority, more than double what the previous health commissioner made. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune
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