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Department of State Health Services

The latest Department of State Health Services news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribBlog: Lax Labs

    By Emily Ramshaw

    The state's public health laboratories are in financial disarray, according to a report released by the state auditor's office this morning. Full Story 

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    Credit: Reuters File Photo

  • A Turf War Over Mental Health

    By Brian Thevenot

    The intent of the law seemed clear: The state’s 39 MHMRs would, wherever possible, stop offering direct medical services and start managing networks of private providers. But a bureaucratic scrum has delayed the privatization of care. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Protecting the Disabled

    By Emily Ramshaw

    At least two elements of last session’s safety reforms at Texas’ institutions for the disabled — random drug testing and mandatory FBI fingerprinting of all potential employees — appear to be having a direct effect. Full Story 

    Austin State-Supported Living Center.
    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • Food Fight

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    Last week, Republicans loudly complained about a just-approved bill that would send $830 million in federal education funds to Texas with strings attached. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, Democrats have their own reason to balk. Full Story 

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  • Good Money After Bad?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    In the wake of high-profile incidents of abuse, state health officials want to boost payments to Texas' institutions for the disabled by $25,000 per patient per year. But the proposed Medicaid rate change has drawn the ire of Texas’ disability community, which wants to see the facilities shuttered rather than propped up. Full Story 

    Austin State-Supported Living Center.
    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • The Biggest Losers

    By Emily Ramshaw

    As the reality of health care reform sinks in, physician-owned specialty hospitals are on edge. Some are scouring the law for loopholes; others want to sell out to corporations. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Wait Times Drop In Texas ERs

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Wait times in Texas emergency rooms dropped by 14 minutes between 2008 and 2009, but it still takes just over 4 hours to be seen by an ER doctor, according to a new study by the health care research group Press Ganey. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Whooping It Up

    By Ben Freed

    Cases of whooping cough spiked in Texas last year to their highest level since 1962. Ben Freed of KUT News reports on what's being done to prevent the spread of this disease. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Suing for Access

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Statewide disability group ADAPT of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project commemorated the 20th anniversity of the Americans with Disabilities Act today by filing more than 20 lawsuits across the state — targeting inaccessibility in restaurants and municipal buildings. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Access and Accommodation

    By Nathan Bernier, KUT News

    Today is the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has been hailed as a Bill of Rights for people with disabilities. Nathan Bernier of KUT News talked to one of the architects of the legislation, Dr. Lex Frieden, a professor of at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston who has been partially paralyzed since 1967. "Life has changed signficantly," Frieden says. Full Story 

  • A Shot in the Arm

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Most of Texas' health insurance companies have fully covered the costs of the infant vaccine Prevnar 13, which prevents deadly cases of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis. The exception has been Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, which has forced physicians to make up the difference or turn babies away. But no more: On Monday, the same day The Texas Tribune asked about the reimbursement gap, BCBS reversed course. It will now cover all costs associated with the vaccine. Full Story 

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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Grissom, Hamilton, and Philpott on the Texas Democratic Party's state convention, the two-step, the forecast, and the ticket; Galbraith on the political and environmental battle between state and federal environmental regulators, and on a new age of nukes in Texas; Burnson on signs of the times in San Antonio; Ramshaw on hackers breaking into the state's confidential cancer database; Aguilar's interview with Katherine Glass, the Libertarian Party's nominee for governor; Acosta on efforts to stop 'Murderabilia' items that sell because of the association with killers; Ramshaw and the Houston Chronicle's Terri Langford on the criminal arrest records of workers in state-funded foster care centers; Hu on accusations that state Sunset examiners missed problems with workers compensation regulators because they didn't ask the right questions of the right people; Ramsey and Stiles on the rush to rake in campaign cash, and on political races that could be won or lost because of voter attraction to Libertarian candidates; and Aguilar's fresh take on South Texas' reputation for corruption. The best of our best from June 28 to July 3, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Lawmakers to DFPS: Tell Us About Abuse

    By Emily Ramshaw

    The commissioner of the agency that oversees Texas foster children told lawmakers she regrets not telling them about a 2008 “fight club” involving developmentally disabled girls. She said the agency is moving quickly to address abuse and neglect inside Daystar Residential Inc. Full Story 

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    Credit: Nick de la Torre / The Houston Chronicle

  • Health Hacker?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    The FBI is investigating whether a hacker broke into the state’s confidential cancer database, possibly accessing personal information and medical records. Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs says state health officials notified his office in early May that a hacker was holding the Texas Cancer Registry hostage and demanding a ransom. Suehs says preliminary investigation results from the FBI indicate the threat may be a hoax but that if private records were compromised, health officials will quickly notify the people listed in the registry. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • Medical Mission?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Are Texas medical schools missing a social conscience? Many fare poorly in a new study that ranks them based on their contributions to meeting the nation’s health care needs. Full Story 

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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    M. Smith's interview with the new chair of the Texas GOP, Philpott on Republicans and Tea Partiers living in harmony, Aguilar on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's not-yet-released strategic plan, Ramshaw's tragic tale of out-of-state kids in Texas treatment centers, Grissom on how budget cuts could impact juvenile justice, Stiles' awesome new population app, Galbraith on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton's interview with the commissioner of higher education and the debut of Hu's new video debate series: The best of our best from June 14 to 19, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva