Now praised as heroes of the pandemic, nurses and other front-line medical workers have been routinely scratched, bitten or verbally abused by patients. Well over half of Texas’ nurses reported being subject to workplace violence in their career, according to a 2016 state study.
Shannon Najmabadi
Shannon Najmabadi was a reporter at the Tribune from 2017 to 2021, most recently covering women's health. 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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Health care
Texas Congressional Democrats urge Gov. Greg Abbott to let Planned Parenthood stay on Medicaid
Their plea comes just days after a state district judge temporarily stopped the state from excluding Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, a government health insurance program for the poor. A hearing is scheduled for later this month.
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Health care
Texas temporarily blocked from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid
A state district judge ruled Wednesday. That’s the same day the state had given Planned Parenthood patients to find new doctors after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Texas officials who have long sought to block the health provider from participating in Medicaid.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Republican lawmakers push to make Texas’ anti-abortion laws among the most restrictive in the nation
With the GOP in control of state government and “a favorable backstop from the courts, it’s going to be a no-holds-barred approach for Republicans on abortion,” one political science professor said.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas has a problem with its COVID-19 vaccination data, and the stakes are high. Now the state is scrambling to solve it.
As the state began the massive undertaking of distributing the coronavirus vaccine, early data problems left state officials with immunization records that were outdated, incomplete and sometimes misleading.
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Demographics
Low-income Texans struggle to find new doctors as state officials boot Planned Parenthood off Medicaid
The state’s health commission gave Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid patients until Feb. 3 to find new doctors. Experts say there are limited places low-income patients can go, in part because Texas already has a shortage of doctors who accept Medicaid due to the state’s low payment rates.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Already in crisis, Texas hospitals treat record numbers of COVID-19 patients while preparing for another post-holiday surge
The state has reported at least 28,545 fatalities tied to the virus, available intensive care unit beds are at a low and health experts say Texans can’t vaccinate their way out of the current surge.
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Coronavirus in Texas
First Texas case of more contagious coronavirus variant identified in Harris County
It does not cause a more severe disease, and vaccines “are expected to be effective against it,” the health services department said of the strain.
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Demographics
Texas gives Medicaid recipients using Planned Parenthood until Feb. 3 to find new health care provider
The extension comes after the conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in November sided with Texas officials who have long tried to block Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Early in the pandemic, Texas banned most abortions. After the ban lifted, second-trimester abortions jumped, a new study shows.
Texas officials cited a need to preserve medical supplies as a reason to crack down on abortions. A new study finds that many Texans left the state during this time seeking the procedure.