Barack and a Hard Place
Two very different Texans in the U.S. House of Representatives — Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, and John Carter, R-Round Rock — respond to the president's State of the Union address. Full Story
The latest Department of State Health Services news from The Texas Tribune.
Two very different Texans in the U.S. House of Representatives — Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, and John Carter, R-Round Rock — respond to the president's State of the Union address. Full Story
Three challenges stand between Texas and the era of electronic medical records: convincing doctors to use them, figuing out how to safely share and protect them and finding a way to pay for them. Full Story
With each day that passes, David Nicholson fears that the man who killed his profoundly disabled brother will join the ranks of state school workers who are never convicted for their heinous acts. Full Story
State employees who commit heinous acts against Texas' most profoundly disabled citizens rarely get charged with crimes, let alone go to jail. A Texas Tribune review of a decade’s worth of abuse and neglect firings at state institutions found that just 16 percent of the most violent or negligent employees were ever charged with crimes. Full Story
Some physicians in undeserved areas of Texas worry that the doctor shortage is not being addressed in the health care reform debate. As part of his continuing exploration of the effort to rewrite health care policy, KUT's Nathan Bernier talked to an East Austin doctor who's doing his best to serve as many patients as possible. Full Story
Members of Congress are working to reconcile two massive health care bills that Texas doctors say will affect their practices and their patients. As part of his continuing exploration of how the effort to rewrite health care policy is playing here, KUT's Nathan Bernier talked to an eye doctor in North Austin. Full Story
In rural counties, recruiting doctors is the single biggest health care challenge. Twenty-seven counties have no primary care physicians. Full Story
As Congress wrestles with the fine print of massive health care legislation, doctors in Texas say both their practices and their patients will be affected. Nathan Bernier reports for KUT News from Athens, about three hours northeast of Austin, where a doctor reveals the unique challenges of providing care in a small town. Full Story
It’s no time to be an advocate for rural health care. Rural lawmakers say they're consistently outnumbered and under-represented — and that redistricting will only make matters worse. Full Story
The state is working to get poor Texans food stamps quicker, but it's not fast enough for many families, and too many children are getting their only hot meal at school, according to Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. Full Story
Emergency medicine doctors say trauma victims must receive care within the “golden hour” to survive. But many rural Texas counties aren’t anywhere near hospitals that can handle complex injuries or illness. Full Story
Dozens of rural Texas counties have no primary care doctors, no hospitals, no pharmacies. Many Texans live more than an hour from basic medical care. And some border communities have so little health care that U.S. citizens cross over into Mexico to get it. Full Story
Roll your own political videos ... interactive travel maps of your federal and state legislators ... scary movies, to keep the kids out of the border's scary drug wars ... puttting dropouts back in class ... rates squeezing families out of home health care ... how many lobby and trade associations do teachers in Texas need? ... enjoying the silence before an expected two-month siege of political advertising ... the dean of Texas political writers gets shut out of the gubernatorial debates ... and we have an interactive database of the state's best and worst public schools. The best of our best for a short news week, from December 19 to 26, 2009. Full Story
The Department of State Health Services will destroy all blood samples taken from infants before May 27, 2009 to settle a lawsuit over the state's newborn screening program. Full Story
In the health care debate, universal coverage has significant if not overwhelming support, but is also marked by pronounced partisan differences, and Texans appeared truly split down the middle on the “public option.” Full Story
The Texas Departments of Family and Protective Services and State Health Services are launching a "Room to Breathe" campaign to educate parents about the dangers of co-sleeping, a controversial subject that they appear to be approaching with caution. Full Story
First Lady Anita Perry is speaking out against new breast cancer screening recommendations made by a federal task force last month. Full Story
Pending food-stamp applications have soared in Texas — from about 38,000 a year ago to more than 65,000 in October. Two-thirds of those people had waited longer than the federally mandated 30 days, and nearly half had waited more than 60 days. Full Story
It was a political week, with a full-court press from our staff on Bill White's switch to the governor's race and all of the fallout; the moves during the first week of filing for political races; Philpott's look at Republicans challenging Republicans; Hu's latest in the popular Stump Interrupted series; Ramshaw on emergency rooms, family doctors, and child protection; Stiles and Grissom mapping payday lending locations juxtaposed with family income data; Rapoport on the state budget and education; Thevenot on KBH's plans for schools; and Hamilton on the power (or not) of political endorsements. The best of the best from November 28 to December 4, 2009. Full Story
State health officials are considering lifting a requirement that Texas emergency rooms have a physician on-site at all times — as long as one can get there within 30 minutes. Full Story